Daryl Bonilla

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Daryl Bonilla (b. February 16, 1975 in Honolulu, Hawai'i^[1]) is an actor, comedian and professional wrestler.

1 Acting
2 Early wrestling career
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Acting

Bonilla began his acting career right out of high school, performing on stage in several local productions.

In 1996 Bonilla was cast as Keao in the indie film Beyond Paradise. Immediately after the film was wrapped, Bonilla started doing local commercials. A 2000 commercial for Bank of Hawai'i, in which Bonilla coined the phrase "That's My Bank!",^[1] became so popular in Hawai'i that the bank brought Bonilla back in 2002 and he's been doing commercials for Bank of Hawai'i ever since. His other film credits include To End All Wars, The Sand Island Drive In Anthem and Beachfront.

[edit] Early wrestling career

In 1997 Bonilla entered the world of professional wrestling when he joined World League Wrestling—Hawai'i (run by former wrestler Lars Anderson) as the TV host of their weekly show. Bonilla, with his acting/comedy background, was a natural in front of the camera. He soon caught on with the fans and became a manager, donning the name DDB^[1] or "Dangerous" Daryl Bonilla (DDB was a nickname from middle school).

Bonilla left WLW in 1999 to join upstart promotion Super Wrestling Force (SWF). That promotion closed a a few months later and was restarted in January 2000 as Third Wave eXplosion (TWX). That promotion also didn't last long, closing in the summer of 2000.

Along with local wrestler Lopaka, Bonilla decided to help upstart promoter Parrish Ho officially launch his promotion NWA Hawai'i. So along with "The Rocker" Don Lee and "Hotstuff" Kris Kavanaugh, they "invaded" World League Wrestling in June 2000. It was at this time that Bonilla made his in-ring debut as a wrestler. Bonilla took over as booker and the company started to grow and create a buzz among the local fans. After a falling out, Bonilla left NWA Hawai'i in June 2001. He briefly returned in 2002 but quickly left again, as he was bored and embarrassed by what had happened to the once-promising promotion.

In January 2003, Linda Bade created Hawai'i Championship Wrestling and asked Bonilla to join. Bonilla teamed with Ultimate Fighter Caruso as Caruso's manager, and the duo became one of the fan favorites, despite the fact that they were heels. In 2004, HCW bookers decided to break up the duo and try a different direction. Around that time, Bonilla left due to acting commitments as well as a lack of interest in HCW, which he felt was beginning to mirror NWA Hawai'i.

Now a part of AZW (Action Zone Wrestling) which debuted in June 2005 and has developed into the hottest promotion in Hawaii attracting talent from mainland US and Japan. AZW has featured several wrestlers from Dragon Gate and has had a working relationship with the organization.