- Tony Stetson
Infobox Wrestler
name=Tony Matteo
img_capt=
names="Hitman" Tony Stetson
Broad Street Bully
height= height|ft=5|in=10
weight= convert|228|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
birth_date=c. 1960
birth_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,United States
death_date=
death_place=
resides=New Castle, Delaware
billed=South Philadelphia
trainer=Larry Sharpe
debut=1985
vs.Bam Bam Bigelow
retired=|Tony Matteo is a semi-retired American
professional wrestler , best known by his ring name "Hitman" Tony Stetson, who has competed in Northeastern independent promotions during the late 1980s and 1990s. However, he is best known for his appearances in thePhiladelphia -basedTri-State Wrestling Alliance andExtreme Championship Wrestling .Career
Early life and career
Born Tony Matteo, he grew up at 11th and Ritner in South Philadelphia and later attended
St. John Neumann . A fan ofBruno Sammartino as a teenager, he played semi-pro football before training atLarry Sharpe 's Monster Factory inBurlington County . Stetson would eventually debut in 1985 facing fellow Monster Factory alumniBam Bam Bigelow at a World Wrestling Federation television taping at theMid-Hudson Arena inPoughkeepsie, New York . "Biff! Pow! Sock!; Pro wrestling's hopefuls take their dreams to the mat in South Philly.". Philadelphia Inquirer. 20 May 2001 ]Tri-State Wrestling Alliance
Tony Stetson made a name for himself wrestling in Joel Goodhart's Tri-State Wrestling Alliance as well as other promotions in
Pennsylvania andNew Jersey from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s. He employed ahardcore wrestling style and was an early contributor to the Philadelphia wrestling scene, including his feud with Johnny Hotbody. Stetson and Hotbody trained wins in a variety of matches, including a Taped Fist First Blood match onMarch 31 1990 .cite web | url = http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/misc/tristate.html | title = Tri-State Wrestling Supercards | publisher = ProWrestlingHistory.com | accessdate=2007-07-02] Several months later, Stetson defeated Hotbody in a Hair vs Hair match. OnMarch 2 1991 , the two resumed their feud when Stetson won aBarbed wire match . When Stetson first started in the Business, he had a manager who went by the name of "The Godfather". The Godfather, was later known as "The Equalizer" and then ended his career as "Gianni Corleone" while working with Stetson toward the end of his career in the CWC.Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling
'Stetson was among the first stars of ECW, along with
Rockin' Rebel ,John T. Smith ,Glen Osbourne , The Sandman,Max Thrasher , andJimmy Jannetty . OnApril 1 ,1993 , Tony Stetson and Larry Winters won the ECW World Tag Team Championship.cite web | url = http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/history/ecwtaghistory/ | title = ECW Tag Team Championship History | publisher = WWE.com | accessdate=2007-07-02] They were the second team ever to hold the titles, after defeating The Super Destroyers inPennsylvania . However, they lost the titles one night later onApril 2 to The Suicide Blondes (Chris Candido and Johnny Hotbody). OnJune 8 , Stetson turned on Winters during a 16-man battle royal.cite web | url = http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/ecw/1993.html | title = ECW: 1993 Results | publisher = Online World of Wrestling | accessdate=2007-07-02] OnJune 19 , Stetson defeated Winters in a First Blood match.After feuding with Winters, Stetson defeated
Tommy Cairo onSeptember 14 to win theECW Pennsylvania Championship . He was one of only two men to ever hold the title before it was disbanded. Later, Stetson began to team with Johnny Hotbody. The two won the ECW Tag titles onSeptember 17 1993 from Eddie Gilbert and The Dark Patriot. They held the belts for two months before losing them to the team ofTommy Dreamer and Johnny Gunn onNovember 12 . They later joined Raven's ECW incarnation of theRaven's Nest .In 1995, Stetson returned to the newly renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling, competing in both singles and
tag team competition.cite web | url = http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/ecw/1995.html | title = ECW: 1995 Results | publisher = Online World of Wrestling | accessdate=2007-07-02] By July, he began performing under thering name Broad Street Bully. However, he returned to using his birth name in 1996. [cite web | url = http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/ecw/1996.html | title = ECW: 1996 Results | publisher = Online World of Wrestling | accessdate=2007-07-02]Recent years
Going into semi-retirement by the mid-1990s, Stetson worked corordinating supply distribution for
Methodist Hospital for several years before joining promoter Lisa Constantino's Central Wrestling Coalition based in South Philadelphia in 1999. Reuniting with his old Manager Gianni Corleone (also known as "The Godfather" and The Equalizer early in his career), he would feud with Breaker Morant over the CWC Heavyweight Championship during the next two years in the promotion. Corleone worked both as a Manager with Stetson and also in Public Relations with many Wrestling Promotions until his retirement with the CWC.In October 1999, Tony married Jennifer Brennan, a 1990 St. Maria Goretti graduate who is now a surgical division manager at the University of Pennsylvania. They had a home built in New Castle Delaware where they lived for 5 years. Together, their biggest accomplishment in life has been the birth of their beautiful daughter Madison Paige. Madison is now 6 years old and the Matteo's returned to their old roots in 2005. They had a home built in Packer Park and are happily enjoying their family, friends and wonderful neighborhood. Tony is approaching the 30 year mark at Methodist Hospital where he has been promoted to Purchasing as the Buyer for the hospital.
Along with his new wife and daughter, the "Hitman" also has two children from a previous marriage named Jennifer and Michael.
Championships and accomplishments
*Eastern Championship Wrestling
**ECW Pennsylvania Championship (1 time) (Last)
**ECW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Larry Winters (1) and Johnny Hotbody (1)*Tri-State Wrestling Alliance
**TWA Bar Wars Championship (1 time) (First and only)Notes
References
*Loverro, Thom. "The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling". New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006. ISBN 1-4165-1058-3
*Williams, Scott E. "Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of the ECW". Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing L.L.C., 2006. ISBN 1-59670-021-1External links
*imdb|1438826|Tony Stetson
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