Bruno Sassi
 |
| Bruno Sassi | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 15, 1970 Baltimore,Maryland |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bruno Sassi Big Bruno Sal Sally Boy |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (130 kg) |
| Billed from | Fraternity Row,College Town |
| Debut | September 30, 1988 |
| Retired | 2014 |
Bruno Sassi(born December 15, 1970) is an Americanprofessional wrestlerbest known for being a member of thetag teamPhi Delta Slam,as well as his appearances inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling.In early 2009 he returned to TNA under the ring nameSally Boy,or simplySal,as one half ofThe Main Event Mafia's, and laterMick Foley's, personal security force.
Career
[edit]Sassi graduated from Miramar High School in 1988, and turned downacademic scholarshipsin order to train as a wrestler, financing his training through a series of odd jobs, including waiting tables in Hollywood Florida at Napoli's Italian restaurant, formerly run by his father-in-law Paul. Sassi made his wrestling debut on September 30, 1988. In 1990, Sassi appeared with theNashville-basedNWA Worldwide Wrestling.
Sassi eventually began wrestling primarily on theFloridianindependent circuit,where he formed atag teamwith "Brother" Dan Evans. Evans and Sassi used thegimmickof a pair of boisterous,prankplayingfraternitymembers. After Evans retired due to injury, Sassi continued to use the gimmick with the third part of the team,Big Tilly.Sassi and Tilly were known collectively asPhi Delta Slam.
World Wrestling Federation
[edit]Sassi also had several matches withWorld Wrestling Federationfrom 1994 to 2000. His final and most notable match for the WWF occurred on April 15, 2000 when he lost toStevie Richardson an episode ofJakked.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005, 2007, 2009–2010)
[edit]Phi Delta Slam were introduced toTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling(TNA) afterDusty Rhodestold his two competing assistants,Traci BrooksandTrinity,to each find a tag team. The tag teams would wrestle one another atDestination X,with the winning tag team's sponsor becoming Rhodes' sole assistant. Trinity selected Phi Delta Slam, and they debuted in February 2005, wrestlingdark matches.They made their on-screen debut on March 13 at Destination X, where they lost to Traci's choice,The Harris Brothers.Phi Delta Slam remained in TNA for several weeks afterwards.
Tilly and Sassi later made a cameo appearance in a series of comedy segments on the December 20, 2007 episode ofImpact!where they were seen at Eric Young's Christmas party, which also involved the likes ofBushwhacker Butch,Kevin Nash,ODB,andAwesome Kong.
Return
[edit]In early 2009, both Tilly and Sassi returned to TNA as the personal security ofThe Main Event Mafiain order to help them fend offThe TNA Front Line.In order play into themafiaaspect of the stable, Sassi was renamed toSal(it was later tweaked toSally Boy), he began wearing sunglasses at all times, dyed his normally blond hair to black and began sporting a short beard. On the March 13 edition ofImpact!,Sal andKurt AngleaccompaniedRoccoas he wrestled Frontline memberEric Youngin the main event, which Rocco lost after Young pinned him following aDeath Valley driver.On the April 2 edition ofImpact!,Rocco and Sal challenged and lost toTeam 3D.On the May 7 edition ofImpact!they were defeated in a handicap match byMatt Morgan.On the May 28 edition ofImpact!Sting,the new leader of the Main Event Mafia, fired Sal and Rocco. On the June 4, 2009, edition ofImpact!Rocco and Sal were hired byMick Foley.The two of them have since made sporadic appearances as bodyguards.
Independent circuit
[edit]Phi Delta Slam is currently wrestling with theSouth Florida-based Coastal Championship Wrestling. In addition, all three members of Phi Delta Slam (Sassi, Tilly and Evans) operate aprofessional wrestling schoolcalled Bodyslam University inFort Lauderdale, Florida.Notable graduates include formerWWE United StatesandWWE Tag Team ChampionMontel Vontavious Porter.
Championships and accomplishment
[edit]- Coastal Championship Wrestling
- CCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Big Tilly
- Future of Wrestling
- Florida Wrestling Alliance
- FWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- FWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- FWA Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Big Tilly
- Independent Pro Wrestling Association
- IPWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- IPWA Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Big Tilly
- International Wrestling Federation
- IWF Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Big Tilly
- South Eastern Championship Wrestling
- SECW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Big Tilly
- World Wide Wrestling
- WWW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Big Tilly