| Matt Bowman | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero |
| Billed height | 6'1" |
| Billed weight | 245 lbs. |
| Born | 1969 New York City, New York, United States |
| Trained by | Ivan Koloff[1] |
| Debut | 1992 |
Matt Bowman, best known by his ring name "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero, is an American professional wrestler who has competed in several promotions on the independent circuit. He had also competed for the United States Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation. He also works at the Independent Pro Wrestling Association Wrestling School and has trained several wrestlers who have gone on to compete in major promotions.
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Cicero was trained for his career in professional wrestling by former WWF Champion Ivan Koloff.[1] In 1994, he held the Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Championship as a member of a tag team known as the Country Club along with Steve Storm.[2] Later that year, the teamed with Brian Perry to form the Rat Pack. On November 17, they won a tournament to become the promotion's first tag team champions. On March 25, 1995, they lost the title to the team of Billy Simmons and Sean Powers. They regained it the following month and held it for just short of one year, but their second and final title reign together came to an end when Sean Powers substituted for Cicero in a loss to Guido Falcone and Jimmy Torture.[3]
In 1996, he appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he formed a tag team with Balls Mahoney in a loss to Spike and Buh Buh Ray Dudley.[4] Cicero also had matches in ECW against Taz and Axl Rotten in 1996 and 1997.[5][6][7] In December 1996, Cicero wrestled against Mahoney, who was using the ring name Boo Bradley, in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF), and defeated him to win the MEWF Mid-Atlantic Championship, which Cicero helf for six months.[8] He continued to compete for MEWF and held the promotion's Tag Team Championship a total of four times in 1997, three times with Steve Corino and once with Julio Sanchez.[9]
In July 1997, he competed for the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA 2000 promotion, where he won a battle royal to become the first NWA 2000 Heavyweight Champion. He held the belt for over five months before a loss to Lance Diamond.[10]
In 1997, he wrestled for the West Virginia-based Championship Pro Wrestling. He competed against his former student Christian York and defeated him at he promotion's "Hot August Night" event.[11] He was also scheduled to compete at a fundraising event at Chantilly High School in Chantilly, Virginia, but it was cancelled due to concerns about the "cartoonish stereotyping" of gimmicks such as Cicero's "Wiseguy" persona.[12] Cicero also made his debut with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1997. He wrestled several matches for the WWF as a jobber; this included a handicap match on the January 12, 1998 episode of Raw is War, in which Cicero teamed with Lance Diamond in a loss to Kurrgan. Cicero continued to compete for the WWF until late in 1998.[13][14]
While wrestling on the American Atlantic Coast for the Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance in 1997, Cicero competed in a tournament to determine the promotion's Heavyweight Champion. He made it to the final round but ultimately lost to Salvatore Sincere. He later claimed the belt after defeating champion Lance Diamond on February 19, 1998. He held the belt for almost four months before dropping it to Buddy Landel.[15] He later formed a tag team with Cueball Carmichael, and the pair held the promotion's Tag Team Championship twice in 1998 and 1999.[16]
He also appeared regularly in Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW). He formed a tag team with Julio Sanchez to compete in a tournament for the initial MCW Tag Team Championship. They made it to the final match on August 18, 1998 but ultimately lost to The Headbangers. The following month, Cicero and Sanchez won the title belts by defeating The Headbangers. They held the belts until November, when they dropped them to Stevie Richards and Earl the Pearl. Cicero regained the title the following year, however, while teaming with Romeo Valentine; they held the belts for over four months before losing them to The Bruiser and Jerry Lawler.[17] Cicero also held the promotions's Heavyweight Championship, as he defeated The Bruiser for the title on July 19, 2000. He dropped the belt four months later to Adam Flash; his rivalry over the belt with Flash continued, as Cicero regained it that December before losing it to Flash again in May 2001.[18]
While competing for MCW, Cicero also wrestled in the Pennsylvania-based Allied Powers Wrestling Federation (APWF), where he held the APWF Heavyweight Championship for one month in 1999 before dropping it to Stevie Richards.[19] He was also awarded the APWF Television Championship on July 30, 1999, which he held until October 2001.[20] Also in 2000, Cicero teamed with Dino Devine in Atlantic Terror Championship wrestling to hold the promotion's tag team title. The duo won the belts on July 15 and held them until the following January, when they dropped them to the team of Mark Shrader and Gregory Martin.[21]
One of the promotions in which he is currently wrestling is Gimmicks Only Extreme Underground Entertainment (GOUGE), a company located in North Carolina in which he has teamed with Eskimo Joe and "Boogie Woogie Man" Rob McBride.[22]
Cicero is also the head trainer of the IPWA Wrestling School;[23] among those trained by Cicero is WWE wrestler Joey Matthews.[24]
Cicero's main purpose in wrestling now is to promote Autism awareness. He has become an advocate for this disability after the diagnosis of his middle son. He now donates proceeds of the sales of his shirts for Autism awareness and has updated his look to include the Autism symbol, the puzzle piece.
Cicero is married with three sons.