Mario Milano

Mario Milano
Born 1935 (1935) (age 81)
Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Residence Australia
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Mario Milano
Black Diablo
Billed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Billed weight 265 lb (120 kg)
Debut 1953 (age 18)
Retired 1986 (age 51)

Mario Bulfone,[1] better known by his ring name Mario Milano is a former professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in the United States and Australia.[2][3][4][5][6]

Career

Early career

Bulfone began wrestling in Caracas, Venezuela at age 18. A curfew prohibited anyone under 19 from being out after 9 o'clock, so he had to hide his identity to avoid trouble with the police. He wore a mask and wrestled as Black Diablo.[7] After he turned 20, he wrestled without the mask under his real name.[1]

Tennessee

Bulfone moved to the United States to wrestle. A promoter felt that Americans would be unable to remember his name, so he gave Bulfone the name Mario Milano, naming him after Milan, Italy. He lived in Nashville, Tennessee,[1] where he competed for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

With Jackie Fargo, he won his first championship, the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship, on 5 November 1963.[8] After holding the title belts for one month, they dropped them to Tojo Yamamoto and Ivan Malenkov but regained them later in December 1963 when Malenkov left the territory and was a no-show at the title defense.[8]

On 2 March 1965, Milano again teamed with Fargo to win the Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[9] He also teamed with Len Rossi to win the Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship six times - in total, he won that title nine times:[8]

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship
Jackie Fargo & Mario Milano [1] 1963/11/05 Nashville, TN
Jackie Fargo & Mario Milano [2] 1963/12/26 Chattanooga, TN
Len Rossi & Mario Milano [1] 1964/06/23 Nashville, TN
Danny Hodge & Mario Milano [1] 1965/05/24 Memphis, TN
Len Rossi & Mario Milano [2] 1966/01/11 Nashville, TN
Len Rossi & Mario Milano [3] 1966/02/15 Nashville, TN
Len Rossi & Mario Milano [4] 1966/04/11 Birmingham, AL
Len Rossi & Mario Milano [5] 1966/07
Len Rossi & Mario Milano [6] 1966/11

Australia

In 1967, Milano was offered a three-month stint wrestling in Australia for promoter Jim Barnett. His stay was then extended, after which he was offered a contract and moved to Australia permanently.[1] Wrestling in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion, he teamed with Red Bastien to win the IWA World Tag Team Championship three times that year.[9][10] He also had two reigns in 1967 as IWA World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Killer Kowalski and Ripper Collins.[11]

He used the Atomic Drop as a finisher, and did an angle where he used it on a 400-pound (180 kg) wrestler.

In 2008 Mario appeared on Australian TV for IWA (International Wrestling Australia) on their series Main Event Wrestling on the Aurora Community Channel. He featured in 6 shows in an angle with resident heel champion Mark Mercedes.

Milano also appears in Roy Slaven's South Coast News series, set in the NSW South Coast town of Ulladulla, as the proprietor of the Bluebird Cafe and the captain/coach of the local A-Grade cricket team.[12]

Milano made a live appearance on Saturday 14 May 2011 for Melbourne-based promotion Professional Championship Wrestling.[13]

Personal life

Mario Bulfone was born in Trieste, Italy and later moved to Venezuela.[9] He now lives in Australia.[9] Mario has three children form his first marriage, Nina, Christopher and Vittorio (Vic), he has two children from his second marriage, Olympia and Briana. He also has five grandchildren from his first marriage, Natalie, Liam, Ashleigh, Shane and James.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

In Film

Mario Milano appeaared as the Russian muscleman in Chang Cheh's "The Boxer From Shantung" in 1972.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lane, Tim (2004-05-22). "Two minute interview". TheAge.com.au. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  2. ↑ http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/155405?lookfor=Mario%20Milano&offset=1&max=377
  3. ↑ http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/291867?lookfor=Mario%20Milano&offset=2&max=377
  4. ↑ http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/bios/m/mario-milano/
  5. ↑ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/australian-wrestling-great-mario-milano-comes-out-of-retirement/story-e6freye0-1225805147896
  6. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/21/1085120115508.html
  7. ↑ Linnell, Garry (2008-10-21). "Quick clinch with Mario Milano". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "NWA (Mid-America)/AWA Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Wrestler Profiles: Mario Milano". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  10. ↑ "International Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  11. ↑ "International Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  12. ↑ Slaven, R. (1990), 'This is the South Coast News and I'm Paul Murphy: Volume II', Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
  13. ↑ "PCW Mayhem 2011 Results". 2011-05-14.
  14. ↑ http://www.iwawrestling.com.au/#!iwa-hall-of-fame/c1a37
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