| Tom Brandi | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Johnny Gunn Salvatore Sincere Tom Brandi The Patriot |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 270 lb (120 kg)[1] |
| Born | July 9, 1966 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1] |
| Resides | Dover, New Hampshire |
| Billed from | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Trained by | King Kaluha[1] |
| Debut | September 1985[1] |
Tom Brandi (born July 9, 1966) is a professional wrestler known for his work in World Wrestling Federation as Salvatore Sincere. He is also known for his current work as The Patriot, working for such companies as Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1, National Wrestling Superstars, and other independent promotions on the East Coast.
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Brandi debuted in 1985 after being trained by indy wrestler King Kaluha. His first notoriety came in International World Class Championship Wrestling where he won the IWCCW Television Championship as "Chippendale" Tom Brandi a gimmick similar to the one used by The Fantastics and The Fabulous Ones in the 1980s.
Brandi later joined Eastern Championship Wrestling and teamed with Tommy Dreamer to capture the ECW Tag Team Championships. They captured the titles from Johnny Hot Body and Tony Stetson in only nine seconds. Less than a month later, the pair would lose the titles to Tasmaniac (later Tazz) and Kevin Sullivan.
In 1994, he competed for the short lived American Wrestling Federation on the TV series Warriors of Wrestling where he used the name "Johnny Gunn" and renewed his chippendales gimmick where he was a fan favorite. Brandi also teamed with Jim Powers while in the AWF.
In World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Brandi went by Johnny Gunn. He achieved some of his most notable moments in his career while teaming with Tom Zenk. On pay-per-view, Brandi teamed up Shane Douglas and Tom Zenk to defeat Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson, and Michael Hayes.
In 1995, Brandi won the USWF Championship under the name Johnny Gunn. After losing the championship to his former trainer, King Kaluha, Brandi won the USWF Tag Team Championship from Damage Inc.
He then went to the WWF, debuting in July 1996 as "Salvatore Sincere," a stereotypical Italian/Mafioso character who falsely claimed to be sincere and to "love" everyone. He appeared at the 1996 Survivor Series and In Your House: It's Time, where he wrestled in dark matches. He briefly feuded with Marc Mero over valet Sable. During this storyline, Brandi began wrestling under his given name after Mero called him a jobber and said that he was "Tom Brandi", not Salvatore Sincere. Sincere later would go on to win a match against Mero by countout. After going by his real name, he participated in the 1998 Royal Rumble match, lasting a matter of seconds before being eliminated by Cactus Jack and Terry Funk. Brandi left the WWF that April.
Since leaving the WWF, Brandi has wrestled on the independent circuit under both the Brandi name and the Sincere name. Since 2002, he also wrestled as "The Patriot", a gimmick to which he claims to have purchased the rights from their former owner, Del Wilkes. In a recent interview, Del states that Brandi is simply using the gimmick and trademark without his permission. Wilkes says he has not communicated with Brandi nor has seen him since 1994.[2]