It is a testament to Albano’s outrageous persona that he was the greatest spectacle in an entourage that included two men in excess of six feet and two hundred and fifty pounds with wild afros and a penchant for biting their opponents.Īfter the feud with Lauper, Albano became a fan-favorite and was given the role of a general mouthpiece that was some strange equivalent to a liaison between the world of professional wrestling and the mainstream. He thrived as a manager of heel Intercontinental champions and tag teams such as The Wild Samoans. Regardless of the reasons, Albano fit comfortably into the mold of Vince’s aggressive and cartoonish vision of professional wrestling. So much so that as part of his agreement to sell the WWF to son Vincent Kennedy McMahon, it was stipulated that Albano and other stalwarts such as Freddie Blassie, Arnold Skaaland, and Pat Patterson be taken care of financially and always have a role to play in the WWF, so long as they wanted it. McMahon, and he returned that loyalty in kind. Albano was part of a small circle that was fiercely loyal to Vincent J. Admittedly, though, nepotism may have also played a large role. This was in part due to his ability to deliver an engaging and entertaining interview that dripped with heel charisma. He became the foil of longtime While a change in ownership accompanied with a wild new direction would have spelled trouble for Albano under different circumstances, he instead thrived in the new WWF. It wasn’t until he transitioned from wrestling to broadcasting, and eventually on-air manager, that Albano became a regional and national star. As a wrestler he gained some prominence as one-half of “The Sicilians,” a tag team running a mobster gimmick that eventually held the promotion’s tag team titles in the late 1960s. McMahon (father of the more famous – or infamous – Vincent Kennedy McMahon) that ran shows primarily in and around New York. He loomed over Cyndi Lauper with boisterous physicality scolding her as her father would, rubber bands sticking out of his beard and flailing with the same cartoonish kinetic frenzy he displayed at WWF events.Īlbano started with the World Wide Wrestling Federation, a Northeastern wrestling promotion run by former boxing promoter Vincent J. As a result, Albano became one of the indelible images of the 1980s.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |