Salvatore Bellomo


Salvatore Bellomo was a Belgian professional wrestler with a career spanning more than three decades.

Career

Working in North America under various ring names of Italian derivation, Bellomo started out portraying a mild-mannered, clean-cut fan favorite with respectable technical wrestling skill. In later years, Bellomo would portray a wildman in the ring, thought to be unpredictable and/or brutal by wrestling audiences. The list of titles he held over the years includes the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship to the WXW Heavyweight Championship.

World Wrestling Federation (1983–1987)

Bellomo's in-ring work landed him a stint in the World Wrestling Federation, who put him over the likes of Johnny Rodz, Tony Colon and Butcher Vachon. He wrestled former heavyweight champion Bob Backlund at the Philadelphia Spectrum on August 4, 1984, jobbing to Backlund in the latter's last WWF match of the decade. Bellomo was otherwise a jobber on WWF programming through the mid-1980s, including a clean loss to Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in a match at Madison Square Garden in November 1984. During one Piper's Pit segment, Bellomo made an "unscheduled" appearance, inspiring host Rowdy Roddy Piper to quip, "What are you doing here? I didn't order a pizza."

Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1994, 1996)

Bellomo was an early performer for NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993, wrestling in the first-ever ECW Championship match. His final matches came at the May 13, 1994 TV tapings, winning over Don E. Allen and Billy Firehawk. Bellomo made a surprise appearance at the Extreme Championship Wrestling event, Hardcore Heaven 1996. He managed J.T. Smith and Little Guido, The Full Blooded Italians, to victory over The Dudley Brothers.

Later life

Although retiring at BWS: Collision Detected on November 25, 2006, Bellomo continued to be active in the business up to his death, working as a trainer for the Belgian Wrestling School located in Terhagen and Flémalle. He often tried to send his kids home with his trademarked expression of saying "Cha Cha!".

Death

On February 9, 2019, the cousin of Bellomo's wife tweeted that Bellomo had died from cancer. He was 67.

Championships and accomplishments