Jimmy Cicero
Born | 1969 New York City, New York, United States |
---|---|
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
Trained by | Ivan Koloff[1] |
Debut | 1992 |
"Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero is an American professional wrestler who has competed in several promotions on the independent circuit. He had also competed for the United States Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation. He also works at the Independent Pro Wrestling Association Wrestling School and has trained several wrestlers who have gone on to compete in major promotions.
Career
Cicero was trained for his career in professional wrestling by former WWF Champion Ivan Koloff.[1] In 1994, he held the Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Championship as a member of a tag team known as the Country Club along with Steve Storm.[2] Later that year, the teamed with Brian Perry to form the Rat Pack. On November 17, they won a tournament to become the promotion's first tag team champions. On March 25, 1995, they lost the title to the team of Billy Simmons and Sean Powers. They regained it the following month and held it for just short of one year, but their second and final title reign together came to an end when Sean Powers substituted for Cicero in a loss to Guido Falcone and Jimmy Torture.[3]
In 1996, he appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he formed a tag team with Balls Mahoney in a loss to Spike and Buh Buh Ray Dudley.[4] Cicero also had matches in ECW against Taz and Axl Rotten in 1996 and 1997.[5][6][7] In December 1996, Cicero wrestled against Mahoney, who was using the ring name Boo Bradley, in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF), and defeated him to win the MEWF Mid-Atlantic Championship, which Cicero helf for six months.[8] He continued to compete for MEWF and held the promotion's Tag Team Championship a total of four times in 1997, three times with Steve Corino and once with Julio Sanchez.[9]
In July 1997, he competed for the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA 2000 promotion, where he won a battle royal to become the first NWA 2000 Heavyweight Champion. He held the belt for over five months before a loss to Lance Diamond.[10]
In 1997, he wrestled for the West Virginia-based Championship Pro Wrestling. He competed against his former student Christian York and defeated him at he promotion's "Hot August Night" event.[11] He was also scheduled to compete at a fundraising event at Chantilly High School in Chantilly, Virginia, but it was cancelled due to concerns about the "cartoonish stereotyping" of gimmicks such as Cicero's "Wiseguy" persona.[12] Cicero also made his debut with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1997. He wrestled several matches for the WWF as a jobber; this included a handicap match on the January 12, 1998 episode of Raw is War, in which Cicero teamed with Lance Diamond in a loss to Kurrgan. Cicero continued to compete for the WWF until late in 1998.[13][14]
While wrestling on the American Atlantic Coast for the Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance in 1997, Cicero competed in a tournament to determine the promotion's Heavyweight Champion. He made it to the final round but ultimately lost to Salvatore Sincere. He later claimed the belt after defeating champion Lance Diamond on February 19, 1998. He held the belt for almost four months before dropping it to Buddy Landel.[15] He later formed a tag team with Cueball Carmichael, and the pair held the promotion's Tag Team Championship twice in 1998 and 1999.[16]
Cicero competed in KYDA Pro Wrestling during the promotion's first year in 1998. He competed against Jimmy Z, a real-life friend at whose schools he had been training wrestlers since 1994.[1][17][18] He also appeared regularly in Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW). He formed a tag team with Julio Sanchez to compete in a tournament for the initial MCW Tag Team Championship. They made it to the final match on August 18, 1998 but ultimately lost to The Headbangers. The following month, Cicero and Sanchez won the title belts by defeating The Headbangers. They held the belts until November, when they dropped them to Stevie Richards and Earl the Pearl. Cicero regained the title the following year, however, while teaming with Romeo Valentine; they held the belts for over four months before losing them to The Bruiser and Jerry Lawler.[19] Cicero also held the promotions's Heavyweight Championship, as he defeated The Bruiser for the title on July 19, 2000. He dropped the belt four months later to Adam Flash; his rivalry over the belt with Flash continued, as Cicero regained it that December before losing it to Flash again in May 2001.[20]
While competing for MCW, Cicero also wrestled in the Pennsylvania-based Allied Powers Wrestling Federation (APWF), where he held the APWF Heavyweight Championship for one month in 1999 before dropping it to Stevie Richards.[21] He was also awarded the APWF Television Championship on July 30, 1999, which he held until October 2001.[22] Also in 2000, Cicero teamed with Dino Devine in Atlantic Terror Championship wrestling to hold the promotion's tag team title. The duo won the belts on July 15 and held them until the following January, when they dropped them to the team of Mark Shrader and Gregory Martin.[23]
Cicero later returned to KYDA Pro Wrestling at the request of owner Jimmy Z. He signed several members of the roster into his Total Quality Management (TQM) stable. He faced opposition from such wrestlers as Axl Rotten, Rhino, Christian York before eventually being banished from the group by Lance McIntyre.[18] Rotten later teamed with Cicero in a feud against TQM.[24]
One of the promotions in which he is currently wrestling is Gimmicks Only Extreme Underground Entertainment (GOUGE), a company located in North Carolina in which he has teamed with Eskimo Joe and "Boogie Woogie Man" Rob McBride.[25]
Cicero is also the head trainer of the IPWA Wrestling School;[26] among those trained by Cicero is WWE wrestler Joey Matthews.[27]
Cicero's main purpose in wrestling now is to promote Autism awareness. He has become a very vocal advocate for this disability after the diagnosis of his middle son. He now donates procedes of the sales of his shirts for Autism awareness and has updated his look to include the Autism symbol, the puzzle piece.[citation needed]
In the latter half of 2009, Cicero feuded with "Big Time" Mike Booth for the NWA Continental Heavyweight Championship in the NWA Fusion promotion. On December 12, 2009, Cicero defeated Booth for the NWA Continental Championship at a show in Massaponi, Virginia.
Cicero is married with three sons.[citation needed]
Championships and accomplishments
- Allied Powers Wrestling Federation
- Atlantic Terror Championship Wrestling
- ATCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dino Devine [23]
- Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance
- CCWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Steve Storm[2]
- Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance
- IPWA Heavyweight Champion (1 time)[15]
- IPWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Cueball Carmichael[16]
- NWA 2000 Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[10]
- MCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[20]
- MCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Julio Sanchez (1) and Romeo Valentino (1)[19]
- Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation
- MEWF Mid-Atlantic Championship (1 time)[8]
- MEWF Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Steve Corino (3) and Julio Sanchez (1)[9]
- Southern Championship Wrestling
- SCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Brian Perry[3]
- NWA Fusion
- NWA Continental Heavyweight Championship (1 time - Current)
- PWI ranked him # 150 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1999
References
- ^ a b c "Exclusive Interview with Jimmy Z". Icons of the Ring. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b "Wrestler Profiles: Steve Storm". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ a b Benaka, Matt (2004). "Southern Championship Wrestling Tag Team Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Extreme Championship Wrestling: October-December 1996". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Extreme Championship Wrestling: July-September 1996". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Extreme Championship Wrestling: January-March 1997". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Extreme Championship Wrestling: April-June 1997". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b Westcott, Brian (2004). "Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Westcott, Brian (2004). "Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation Tag Team Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "N.W.A. 2000 Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ "Championship Pro Wrestling Results: 1997-2002". Championship Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Wingfield, Marvin. "Pinned". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Ring Results: 1997". The History of WWE. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Ring Results: 1998". The History of WWE. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ a b Westcott, Brian (1998). "Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ a b Westcott, Brian (1998). "Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Titles". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ "KYDA Pro Wrestling Information Video". KYDA Pro Wrestling (also posted by the owner at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTNsjQ2NDOs). Retrieved 2009-03-27.
In 2008, KYDA Pro Wrestling will be going into its tenth year.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|publisher=
- ^ a b "2007 End of the Year KYDA Pro Wrestling Awards". KYDA Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b "Tag Team Title History". Maryland Championship Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b "MCW Title Title History". Maryland Championship Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b Bish, Matt (2005). "Allied Powers Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ a b Bish, Matt (2005). "Allied Powers Wrestling Federation Television Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ a b Roelfsema, Eric (2001). "Atlantic Terror Championship Wrestilng Tag Team Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ "July 13 Event Results". KYDA Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Event Results". Gimmicks Only Extreme Underground Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Wrestling Contacts - Schools". National Wrestling League. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ Milner, John M. "Joey Mercury". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
Further reading
- "Wrestlers help local school athletics". RU Daily Targum 2 October 2000
- "Canada, Scotland, Whatever". Ledger-Inquirer. 8 June 2001