| John Hugger | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | GREAT MUTA[1] John Hugger[1] Johnny Hugger[1] Johnny the Bull[2][1] Johnny Stamboli[2][1] REDRUM[2][1] Relli[2][1] The Unknown Wrestler[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 250 lb (110 kg; 18 st)[2] |
| Born | April 20, 1977 [2][1] Atlanta, Georgia[2][1] |
| Resides | Phoenix, Arizona[2] |
| Billed from | "The Depths of Hell" / Salem (as Rellik) Little Italy, Manhattan (as Johnny Stamboli) |
| Trained by | Paul Orndorff[1] WCW Power Plant[2][1] |
| Debut | 1999[1] |
John Hugger (born April 20, 1977) is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling as Johnny the Bull, World Wrestling Entertainment as Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli. He has also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración and Lucha Libre USA under the ring name Relli.[2]
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While attending college in Atlanta, Georgia and working as a doorman at the Club Oxygen nightclub, Hugger exercised at the Main Event Fitness gym, which was owned by World Championship Wrestling employees Lex Luger and Sting. During one of his visits to the gym, WCW employee Diamond Dallas Page met with Hugger and encouraged him to train as a wrestler. Hugger subsequently attended the WCW Power Plant training center and took part in a $250 USD tryout alongside 19 other people. The tryout featured press ups, sprinting, squats and freestyle wrestling in temperatures of over 100 degrees. Hugger passed the tryout, but did not immediately begin training as a wrestler. Six months later, he was attacked and stabbed six times. Hugger resolved to change his lifestyle, which he believed had resulted in his assault, and enlisted in the Power Plant.[3]
After training for nine months, Hugger debuted on WCW television in late 1999. Hugger adopted the ring name Johnny the Bull and formed a Mafia-themed tag team named The Mamalukes with Big Vito. The duo were managed by Tony Marinara.[3]
On January 18, 2000 in Evansville, Indiana, Hugger and Big Vito defeated Crowbar and David Flair for the WCW World Tag Team Championship. The match was broadcast on the January 19 episode of WCW Thunder. They held the championship until February 12, when they were defeated by Creative Control in Oberhausen during a tour of Germany. The Mamalukes regained the championship on the following day in Leipzig, and held it until March 19, when they lost to Creative Control in a no disqualification match at the pay-per-view Uncensored, which took place in the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida.[4]
On June 5, 2000, The Mamalukes attacked Hardcore Champion Terry Funk during a title defense against WCW President Eric Bischoff, enabling Bischoff to defeat Funk. On the June 7 episode of Thunder, Bischoff awarded the Hardcore Championship to The Mamalukes, making them co-champions. On June 19, Big Vito defeated Hugger to become the undisputed Hardcore Champion. On the July 3 episode of Nitro, while wrestling Funk in a hardcore match, Hugger tore his urethra while executing a diving leg drop, and was sidelined for two months while recuperating.[3][5][6]
On the September 11, 2000 edition of Nitro, Hugger returned to betray Vito and joined several other Power Plant graduates in a faction known as the Natural Born Thrillers, a collection of young wrestlers who sought to challenge more established wrestlers. Although successful in winning the World Tag Team Championship on several occasions, Hugger reconciled with Vito and reformed the Mamalukes, and the two continued teaming until WCW's closure in March 2001.
In March 2001, World Championship Wrestling was purchased by its Stamford, Connecticut-based rival, the World Wrestling Federation. Hugger's contract was bought out by the WWF. Johnny the Bull wrestled one dark match before the July 12, 2001 edition of SmackDown!, losing to Rob Van Dam. Johnny the Bull was introduced to the promotion as a member of The Alliance but after a single appearance on WWF television, Hugger was sent to the Heartland Wrestling Association, an Ohio-based WWF developmental territory, in late July 2001, to further his training. While in the HWA, he won the promotion's Heavyweight Championship on two occasions in 2002.[7]
After the company was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment in May 2002, Hugger returned to WWE television on the June 30, 2002 episode of Sunday Night Heat under the ring name Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli, losing via disqualification to Tommy Dreamer. On the July 15 episode of Raw, Stamboli won the Hardcore Championship, his first title in WWE, from Bradshaw. Bradshaw would, however, regain the title from Hugger later that night.[8][9] On the July 29 edition of Raw, Stamboli won the Hardcore Title once again after pinning Jeff Hardy, but lost the title a few seconds later to Bradshaw. became a mainstay on Heat and would later turn face due to fan reaction, in late September, 2002.
On February 13, 2003, Hugger jumped to the SmackDown! brand and became a heel again when Hugger, Nunzio and Chuck Palumbo attacked Rikishi. Together they formed an Italian American-themed stable with then-heel, called the Full Blooded Italians.[8] The faction wrestled on throughout 2003 and early 2004, disbanding on March 22, 2004 when Palumbo was transferred to the Raw brand. Hugger and Nunzio continued to team together until Hugger was released from his WWE contract on November 4, 2004.
Following his release from WWE, Hugger began wrestling for the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion after his friend Troy Endres, who was portraying a "fake" Great Muta, retired after tearing both of his anterior cruciate ligaments and nominated Hugger as his replacement. Hugger donned a mask and adopted the character of GREAT MUTA, losing to the real Great Muta at The Unchained World on December 5, 2004 in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.[3]
On January 2, 2005 in the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Hugger dropped his Great Muta character and formed a stable with Taru known as the Voodoo Murders. The Voodoo Murders, who declared that they wished to destroy AJPW, eventually expanded to include several other WCW and WWE alumni, including Chuck Palumbo.[10]
In 2005, Hugger and Chuck Palumbo reformed the Full Blooded Italians in the Italy-based Nu-Wrestling Evolution promotion. In 2006, Hugger toured Mexico, teaming with Marco Corleone in the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre promotion. In late 2006, Hugger began working for the Arizona-based Impact Zone Wrestling promotion, where he created a character named REDRUM ("Murder" capitalized and spelt backwards, a reference to the 1980 film The Shining). Hugger based Redrum on the Great Muta character he had portrayed in AJPW.[1][6]
In the summer of 2007, Hugger wrestled two dark matches for World Wrestling Entertainment, using the ring name The Unknown Wrestler.
In late 2007, Hugger exhibited his REDRUM character for Jeff Jarrett, Vince Russo and Terry Taylor, members of the creative team of the Orlando, Florida-based Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion, and was subsequently hired. He debuted in TNA on November 11, 2007 at the pay-per-view Genesis. In his next appearance, his ring name was changed to Relli ("Killer" spelled backwards). He then aligned himself with Black Reign and James Mitchell, with he and Reign forming a tag team.[3][11] In their debut match as a team, they lost to Abyss and Raven at Turning Point Match of 10,000 Tacks.[12] After losing several matches, the team picked up its first and only victory after defeating The Motor City Machineguns on the March 10, 2008 episode of Impact!.[12] On the April 16 episode of Impact!, Relli and Black Reign made their final appearance as a team in a losing effort to Team 3D in the first round of the Deuces Wild tournament.[12] After losing three dark matches in mid-May, Hugger left TNA.[13]
1Johnny the Bull held the title jointly with Big Vito during his reign.
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