The Pitbulls

Last updated
The Pitbulls
Pitbull Gary Wolfe 2013.jpg
Pitbull #1
Tag team
Members Pitbull #1
Pitbull #2
Name(s)The Pitbulls
Wolfe and Durante [1]
Mad Bull Busters [1]
The American Bulldogs
The Pit Bulldogs
Billed heights5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) - Wolfe
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) - Durante
Combined
billed weight		485 lb (220 kg; 34.6 st)
Hometown Hammonton, New Jersey
Debut1989
Disbanded2002

The Pitbulls (sometimes written as The Pit Bulls) were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of "Pitbull #1" Gary Wolfe and "Pitbull #2" Anthony Durante. They were best known for their tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling, where they were one-time Tag Team Champions. In addition to tag team success, both members were each one time Television Champions as well.

Contents

History

World Wrestling Federation

In 1989, Wolfe and Durante wrestled briefly in the World Wrestling Federation, losing to The Hart Foundation on March 4, 1989. They also lost to The Brain Busters on June 27, 1989, and the Fabulous Rougeau brothers on Primetime aired on 25 September 1989.

South Atlantic Pro Wrestling and New Japan

In 1990, Wofle and Durante went to South Atlantic Pro Wrestling as the American Bulldogs and later renaming themselves the Pitbulls. They defeated the Nasty Boys for the tag team titles.

In 1991 they went to New Japan Pro-Wrestling as the Mad Bull Busters. They stayed there for a year.

Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling

The Pitbulls debuted Extreme Championship Wrestling in April 1992 both competing in battle royals to crown the first ECW Heavyweight Champion. Neither were successful. Durante left shortly after, Wolfe, became known as "the Pitbull", won the Television Championship on April 16, 1994. Later 1994, Wolfe and Durante, who became "Pitbull #2", reunited The Pitbulls and had notable feuds with Public Enemy and the Bad Breed, the feud with the Bad Breed culminated at the November to Remember in a match where the Losing team was forced to split up. The Pitbulls were victorious. The Pitbulls won their first and only Tag Team Championship on September 16, 1995, at Gangstas Paradise from Raven and Stevie Richards. [2] They were soon joined by Francine, who became their manager and dubbed herself "The Beastmaster". One month later at South Philly Jam, they lost the titles back to Raven and Richards. [2] In 1996, The Pitbulls moved into an intense feud with The Eliminators, which saw their manager Francine receive the Total Elimination on two occasions. The feud culminated at the first-ever CyberSlam in a three-on-three dog collar match, which saw Francine team with the Pitbulls against Stevie Richards with The Eliminators. The Pitbulls won the match after superbombing Richards and letting Francine pin Richards. However, The Eliminators hit the Total Elimination on Pitbull #1, Pitbull #2, and Francine after the match. After this, Pitbull #2 went on to win the ECW Television Championship on June 1 at the Fight the Power event; he held the belt for only 21 days before losing it to Chris Jericho at Hardcore Heaven.

On July 13, 1996, at Heat Wave, Francine turned on The Pitbulls and became the manager of Shane Douglas. The feud between Douglas and The Pitbulls culminated on April 13, 1997, at the first ECW pay-per-view Barely Legal, where Pitbull #2 faced Douglas for the Television Championship in a losing effort.

Independent circuit

After leaving ECW, The Pitbulls began competing on the independent circuit. Pitbull #2 began a brief singles run, which included one-time reigns as the MEWF Heavyweight Champion and the second-ever JAPW Heavyweight Champion, both of which ended via title vacation due to injuries. The team returned to the tag team division as they debuted in the National Wrestling Alliance's New Jersey territory, where they won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship on two occasions in 1998 and 1999 and remained the title's final champions upon the title's deactivation 2000. They lost to the Headbangers on WWF Shotgun Saturday Night on August 24, 1998. In 2000, the team went their separate ways as Pitbull #1 began competing under his real name along with the nickname "The Pitbull" for Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling, where he was the company's first-ever and only two-time Heavyweight Champion as well as a one-time Tag Team Champion with. They toured many promotions including Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and World Wrestling Council (WWC). In 2000 they disbanded for brief period of time.

Return to ECW

On March 4, 2000, they returned to ECW as they lost to Amish Roadkill and Danny Doring.

IWA Puerto Rico

They reunited for only one night on May 12, 2002, at International Wrestling Association event in Puerto Rico defeating Bryan Madness and Maniac. This would be the last time the Pitbulls would be together. Also it was the last match for Durante.

Death of Durante

Durante died on September 25, 2003, along with his girlfriend Dianna Hulsey due to drug overdoses. A substance believed to be the painkiller oxycodone was found in the house but it was officially announced that he overdosed on the painkiller fentanyl. He and his girlfriend were found after lying in their home dead for days, all while their two small children, a 21-month-old boy and an 8-month-old girl, were apparently alone in the house with the bodies. In 2005, Wolfe appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment's first-ever One Night Stand event to introduce the "ECW Remembers" video honoring the ECW alumni who had died, including his tag team partner Durante.

After the death of Durante, Wolfe returned to the independent circuit and began competing for Pro Wrestling Unplugged as "The Pitbull" Wolfe, where he reused The Pitbull gimmick in honor of his late friend and tag team partner.

Championships and accomplishments

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Douglas</span> American professional wrestler and promoter

Troy Allan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Dean Douglas, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he worked as a wrestler and manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabu (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Terrance Michael "Terry" Brunk is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sabu. He is known for his trademark style of hardcore wrestling, which he pioneered in his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 2000. He is a three-time World Heavyweight Champion having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevie Richards</span> American professional wrestler

Michael Stephen Manna, better known by his ring name Stevie Richards, is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber. Over the course of his career, Richards has performed for major professional wrestling promotions including Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Championships held by Richards include the ECW World Tag Team Championship, the WWE Hardcore Championship, the NWA National Heavyweight Championship and the Extreme Rising World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raven's Nest</span> Professional wrestling stable

Raven's Nest was a professional wrestling stable led by Raven that was present in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) between 1995 and 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Durante</span> American professional wrestler

Anthony Durante was an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name "Pitbull #2" as one half of the tag team The Pitbulls, with "Pitbull #1" Gary Wolfe. The team is best known for their time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where the team was the promotion's World Tag Team Championship once. Apart from tag team competition, Durante also achieved success briefly as a singles competitor, challenging for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship on a few occasions while holding the ECW World Television Championship once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francine (wrestling)</span> American professional wrestling valet

Francine Meeks, known by the mononym Francine, is an American semi-retired professional wrestling valet and professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1995 to 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2005 and 2006. During her tenure with ECW, Francine managed several of the promotion's top wrestlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocco Rock</span> American professional wrestler (1953–2002)

Theodore James Petty was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. Rock is best known for his appearances in Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) alongside Johnny Grunge as the Public Enemy during the 1990s. He was a four-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, a one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, and a one-time NWA World Tag Team Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Wolfe (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Gary Wolfe is an American professional wrestler best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring name Pitbull #1 as one half of the tag team called The Pitbulls, with Anthony Durante as Pitbull #2. He was a one-time Television Champion and a one-time World Tag Team Champion in ECW. He is also a former two-time 3PW World Heavyweight Champion.

In professional wrestling, Holiday Hell was a supercard produced by the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States-based promotion Eastern Championship Wrestling/Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Themed around the Christmas and holiday season, Holiday Hell was staged in December from 1993 to 1996, and again in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hostile City Showdown (1997)</span> 1997 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

Hostile City Showdown, the fourth Hostile City Showdown professional wrestling supercard produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), took place on March 15, 1997 in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Exceprts from Hostile City Showdown aired on the syndicated television show ECW Hardcore TV on 22 and 29 March 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Matter of Respect (1996)</span> 1996 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

A Matter of Respect was the first A Matter of Respect professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place on May 11, 1996, in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">November to Remember (1996)</span> 1996 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

November to Remember (1996) was the fourth November to Remember professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place on November 16, 1996 in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was the biggest ECW show in history at that time and sold out 4 hours in advance, with a legitimate 1,500 fans attending, the largest turnout in company history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">November to Remember (1995)</span> 1995 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

November to Remember (1995) was the third November to Remember professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place on November 18, 1995 in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. The event marked the return of Sabu to ECW after a stint in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the ECW debut of The Blue Meanie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heat Wave (1996)</span> 1996 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

Heat Wave (1996) was the third Heat Wave professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place on July 13, 1996 from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestlepalooza (1997)</span> 1997 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

Wrestlepalooza (1997) was the second Wrestlepalooza professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place on June 6, 1997 in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultimate Jeopardy (1996)</span> 1996 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

Ultimate Jeopardy - the second Ultimate Jeopardy professional wrestling supercard event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) - took place on October 5, 1996 in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Excerpts from Ultimate Jeopardy aired on episodes #181, #182, and #183 of the syndicated television program ECW Hardcore TV in October 1996, while the bout between Bam Bam Bigelow and Terry Gordy was included on the compilation DVD Extreme Warfare Volume 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Buffalo Invasion</span> 1997 Extreme Championship Wrestling live event

The Buffalo Invasion was a professional wrestling live event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on May 17, 1997. The event was held in the Burt Flickinger Center in Buffalo, New York in the United States. Excerpts from The Buffalo Invasion aired on episode #213 of the syndicated television show ECW Hardcore TV on May 22, 1997, while the event was released on VHS and DVD. Both the main event and the bout between the Dudley Brothers, the Eliminators, and the Gangstas were also included on the compilation DVD ECW: Unreleased Vol. 2 released by WWE in 2013.

Mountain Top Madness was the name of two professional wrestling live events produced by the professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1995 and 1997 respectively. Both events were held at the Flagstaff in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ECW Fight the Power</span> 1996 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

Fight the Power was a professional wrestling live event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on June 1, 1996. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Excerpts from Fight the Power aired on the June 4, June 11, and June 18 episodes of the syndicated television show ECW Hardcore TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ECW Chapter 2</span> 1997 Extreme Championship Wrestling live event

Chapter 2 was a professional wrestling live event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on May 10, 1997. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Excerpts from Chapter 2 aired on episode #212 of the syndicated television show ECW Hardcore TV on May 15, 1997.

References

  1. 1 2 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Pitbulls « Tag Teams Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.de.
  2. 1 2 "ECW Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  3. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "APWF Tag Team Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.de.
  4. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". wrestlingdata.com.
  5. ↑ Royal Duncan & Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
  6. ↑ "PITBULLS & SCORPIO TO BE INDUCTED INTO ECW ARENA HARDCORE HALL, HARDY WINS MCW TITLE, LOW KI VS. DANIELS, BOLIVIA, HERO IN FRANCE AND MORE NEWS - PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com.
  7. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Pitbulls « Tag Teams Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  8. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Pitbulls « Tag Teams Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.