The Underappreciated Wrestling Legacy Of Nunzio, Explained
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Many wrestlers of past eras don’t get the love or attention they deserve due to many variables in play. WWE being the major force of wrestling for decades sees their top stars being remembered most. Wrestlers to have lower card runs in the company or to have more success elsewhere will have a harder time getting their legacy celebrated.
Nunzio is the perfect wrestler to summarize this predicament when looking back at his career. Anyone to follow Nunzio from ECW to WWE will have at least a handful of memories of his best work. Unfortunately, the average fan will struggle to remember his run. It is worth exploring the career of Nunzio and to recognize him as an underappreciated legend from his time.
Nunzio Found Success In Paul Heyman's ECW
The original Full Blooded Italians faction became a huge hit for ECW in their glory years. Nunzio used the name Little Guido in ECW and was considered the most valuable member of the faction. J.T. Smith started the group with Nunzio, Tracy Smothers, and Tommy Rich all joining early. Tony Mamaluke becoming the next member led to him and Nunzio forming a team within the F.B.I. group to represent them in the tag division.
RELATED: 10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About The Forgotten Full Blooded Italians Stable
Big Sal joining as an enforcer even helped spotlight Nunzio more, with him carrying him on his shoulders in comical fashion. Even though Smith started off as a leader, Nunzio was viewed as the real leader of the faction once it started clicking. Paul Heyman trusted Nunzio to have strong matches against his rivals throughout the tenure. A great feud between Nunzio, Super Crazy, and Tajiri stole the show many nights in ECW and was even selected for a spot on the legendary One Night Stand 2005 reunion PPV.
Nunzio started to get more trust in the final few years when most of the top stars jumped ship to WWE and WCW. There were two ECW Tag Team Championship reigns for Nunzio representing the F.B.I with Mamaluke and Smothers respectively. Any ECW fan will talk about the importance of this faction, but the group doesn’t work without Nunzio as the eventual leader.
Nunzio Had An Underrated WWE Run
Most fans remember Nunzio most for WWE since it was the biggest stage of his career. Nunzio benefited from the name change and had a few different roles in the company. WWE first introduced Nunzio as a friend from Jamie Noble’s past hired to harm Crash Holly. This angle didn’t last too long as WWE realized Nunzio needed a better role.
The Full-Blooded Italians act being reborn in WWE featured Nunzio once again as the leader with new partners. Chuck Palumbo and Johnny the Bull united with Nunzio as their leader to have noteworthy moments with bigger stars like The Undertaker and Chris Benoit. Unfortunately, WWE realized that the act wasn’t working when they couldn’t get heat facing The Undertaker, leading to the push fading away. The group struggled to get more television time and split up in the next draft.
Nunzio was all over the place in various roles after the F.B.I. ended. WWE mostly used him in the cruiserweight division, and he even won the Cruiserweight Championship twice with very short pushes. ECW being reborn as a WWE brand saw Nunzio moved there to reform his team with Tony Mamaluke. WWE gave up on the ECW originals quickly though to end his run poorly.
Nunzio's Lasting Legacy In Wrestling
The legacy of Nunzio in wrestling should be about how he did his best in every role required of him. Some names like Brock Lesnar or The Rock have spent their entire wrestling careers in huge roles. Nunzio working in smaller promotions, breaking out in ECW, and taking part in many different WWE roles showed him as a perfect utility player in wrestling.
WWE even asked Nunzio to become a referee after he was released from his talent contract. Nunzio returned as an official for a short stint before both parties decided that wasn’t going to work. Life after WWE has seen Nunzio wrestling on the independent circuit to this day on smaller events or at conventions.
Wrestling never stopping makes it easier to lose sight on certain underrated talents that are no longer on WWE television. Nunzio created memories during his WWE career, contributing wherever they needed him and proved he could thrive more in a smaller pond like ECW. The overall skill set of Nunzio showed a versatile performer that entertained in many different ways. Any wrestling fan to watch Nunzio’s career play out will have at least a couple of memories about how talented he was.
