| Joe Turco | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Joseph Bandiera [1] |
| Born | Catania, Sicily, Italy [2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Joe Turco Baron Turco Bull Turco Mario Leone Matador Continental Nobleman |
| Billed weight | 246 lb (112 kg) |
| Debut | 1956 |
| Retired | 1978 |
Joseph Bandiera was an Italian professional wrestler wrestled as Joe Turco who worked in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the 1970s.
Turco made his professional wrestling debut in 1956 in Southern California as The Great Matador. In 1960, he journeyed to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Throughout the decade, he worked in Tennessee, Minnesota, Alabama, the Mid-Atlantic, and Georgia. [3]
In 1970, he made his debut for the World Wide Wrestling Federation as Joe Turco nicknamed The Continental Nobleman. [4] [5] In 1971, he left the WWWF and worked in Japan for Japan Wrestling Association. Also in 1971-1972 he worked for American Wrestling Association and returned to Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic.
In 1972, he returned to the WWWF. Also, during the decade, he worked for International Wrestling Association in Cleveland and the Central States. In 1977, he returned to Japan, this time working for International Wrestling Enterprise.
In 1978, he wrestled his last matches for WWWF. [6] He retired later that year.