Lou Marconi


Lou Marconi is an American professional wrestler, trainer, and occasional actor. He has wrestled in numerous independent promotions in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern United States since his debut in 1992.
Marconi was a major star in Pennsylvania-based Pro Wrestling eXpress and Steel City Wrestling during the mid-to late 1990s. He held every championship title in both promotions as well as engaged in feuds with Cactus Jack and Stevie Richards. Marconi also had brief stints in Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as a preliminary wrestler.
A back injury in 2000 prematurely forced Marconi into retirement. He eventually returned to pro wrestling five years later, at age 32, and performed for Absolute Intense Wrestling, International Wrestling Cartel, and G.O.U.G.E. Wrestling. Since August 2012, Marconi has competed in the National Wrestling Alliance winning titles in several NWA-affiliated promotions. He is a former NWA East Three Rivers Champion, a two-time NWA Eastern States Champion, and two-time NWA National Heavyweight Champion. His feud with Phil "Nitro" Monahan is considered by the NWA to be one of the organization's "fiercest rivalries" in recent years. In May 2014, Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked Marconi #5 of the top ten wrestlers in the NWA.

Early life

Lou Marconi was born in Brooklyn, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, on June 19, 1973. A lifelong wrestling fan, Marconi followed both the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation during the 1980s. His favorite wrestlers were WWF stars Bret "the Hitman Hart and Mr. Perfect who later influenced his wrestling style. He began training under Charlie Fulton at the Ohio Monster Factory in Marion, Ohio, shortly after leaving high school. Marconi made his pro debut on June 19, 1993, after only two months of training.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1992–1994)

Marconi spent the first years of his wrestling career on the local Ohio-Pennsylvania independent circuit including, most notably, J.T. Lightning's Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling. Pro Wrestling Illustrated alleged that his opponents had dubbed his infamous finisher the "Hellfire lariat" because "it takes five years off your life". On May 25, 1994, Marconi appeared on WWF Superstars of Wrestling where he and Curtis Harrison wrestled The Headshrinkers for the WWF World Tag Team Championship. Marconi was given this early opportunity, due in large part to his trainer Charlie Fulton, and would eventually become a regular WWF preliminary wrestler for its Midwestern tours from 1996 to 2000.

Steel City Wrestling (1994–1996)

That summer, Marconi joined Steel City Wrestling based in Irwin, Pennsylvania. On September 24, 1994, he teamed with Derek Stone to defeat Beauty & The Beast in Munhall, Pennsylvania, to become the inaugural SCW Tag Team Champions. Beauty & The Beast won the belts three months later in Pittsburgh, however, Marconi soon formed Black & Blue with The Black Cat and made a second run for the tag titles. Marconi and The Black Cat defeated Beauty & The Beast for the SCW Tag Team Championship in Plum, Pennsylvania, on March 17, 1995; the two reportedly defeated Futureshock and Stalletto in singles matches during the show. The two were defeated by The Juicer and Preston Steele at Deaf Wrestlefest 1995 on April 9. After a 7-month reign, Black & Blue lost the SCW Tag Team titles to Frank Stalletto and Stevie Richards in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, on October 21. After the match, Raven and Richards attacked Stalletto and the belts were held up. On November 11, 1995, Marconi and Frank Stalletto defeated Stevie Richards and Brian Rollins in St. Mary, Pennsylvania to win the vacant SCW Tag Team Championship. On April 13, 1996, Marconi and Frank Stalletto defended the SCW Tag Team belts against Ron Cumberledge and Kenny "Hurricane" Hendrix in Barberton, Ohio. A week later, Marconi and Frank Stalletto lost the belts to Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie at Deaf Wrestlefest 1996.

American States Wrestling Alliance (1996)

Marconi began wrestling for the American States Wrestling Alliance around this time. Shortly before Deaf Wrestlefest, Marconi took part in an 18-man battle royal for an ASWA television taping in Lexington, Ohio; he was the last participant to be eliminated by the winner Max Profit. On June 8, 1996, Marconi defeated Lumberin' Jack in Alliance, Ohio. In August, Marconi made two appearances on WWF Superstars of Wrestling; his first match was against Marc Mero and the second a tag team match with Frank Stalletto versus The Smokin' Gunns. He also wrestled "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on WWF Superstars two months later.
Marconi briefly returned to SCW in the fall. On September 21, 1996, Marconi defeated Paul Atlas at the Tuscarawas County Fair in Dover, Ohio. The following night, he lost to Stevie Richards at Sullivan Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
On October 18, 1996, Marconi teamed with Micro Menace and Kaos in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Bo Dacious, Chip Emdale, and The Prince of Polyester at an ASWA television taping in Mansfield, Ohio. Marconi and Chris Harris entered a championship tag team tournament and advanced to the semi-finals where, on November 22, they defeated Roger Ruffin and The Prince of Polyester at the Commerce Center in Mansfield. On December 21, 1996, Marconi and Chris Harris defeated Lumberin' Jack and Chip Endale at the Mansfield Commerce Center. At the end of the year, Marconi was one of several wrestlers featured in a Pro Wrestling Illustrated article about unusual nicknames in pro wrestling. PWI columnist Dave Rosenbaum wrote:

Pro Wrestling eXpress (1996–1997)

In late-1996, Marconi debuted in Pittsburgh's Pro Wrestling eXpress. On November 23, 1996, Marconi defeated Big Daddy Adams at the Wrestleplex in North Versailles, Pennsylvania, to win the PWX North American Championship. He subsequently aligned himself with manager Notorious Norm's heel stable. The two later became known as "The Spice Boys". On December 13, 1996, Marconi held on to his title via a disqualification loss to Paul Atlas at the Wrestleplex. A rematch the following night in Herminie, Pennsylvania, resulted in a victory for Marconi. On February 22, 1997, Marconi lost the PWX North American Championship to Dennis Gregory at the National Guard Armory in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. On March 7, 1997, Marconi joined Axl Rotten, Adam Flash, and Frank Stalletto an 8-man tag team elimination match against Stevie Richards, The Blue Meanie, J.B. Destiny, and Colonel Payne at the Wrestleplex in North Versailles. One day later, Marconi defeated "Bad Boy" Brian Anthony at North Star High School in Boswell, Pennsylvania. On April 5, 1997, Marconi returned to Punxsutawney where he defeated J.B. Destiny.
On May 9, Marconi defeated PWX Heavyweight Champion T. Rantula in a non-title "I Quit" match at the Wrestleplex. Marconi has called this match, in which he was powerbombed though the particleboard-constructed entranceway, the "craziest" of his entire career. On May 24, Marconi defeated Paul Atlas in a rematch. That same night Marconi lost to PWX Heavyweight Champion T. Rantula in a Falls Count Anywhere match in Punxsutawney. On May 30, Marconi defended his title twice in one night at the Wrestleplex defeating Paul Atlas, by disqualification, and Quinn Magnum. On May 31, Marconi and Gator battled to a double-countout at Carmichaels High School. At the end of the show, Marconi also defeated Brian Anthony. On July 28, Marconi wrestled Brian Pillman on WWF Shotgun Saturday Night. On August 27, 1997, Marconi defeated PWX North American Champion Dennis Gregory in a unification match at the Wrestleplex. That same month, Marconi made his Extreme Championship Wrestling debut against Bam Bam Bigelow before 2,200 fans at the Golden Dome in Monaca, Pennsylvania. Marconi was initially brought into ECW by The Blue Meanie and would continue to make appearances with the promotion throughout the year.
On September 21, 1997, Marconi defended the PWX Television Championship defeating Sean Evans by submission at an SCW show in Mount Washington, Pennsylvania. On October 4, 1997, Marconi lost the newly unified title to Dennis Gregory at the Wrestleplex. That weekend in ECW, Marconi wrestled Al Snow in back-to-back singles matches. On December 13, 1997, he and Bill Wiles lost to Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney in Buffalo, New York. On January 16, 1998, Marconi lost a second tag team match with Bud Liscious to Danny Doring and Paul Diamond in Rostraver, Pennsylvania. His final ECW appearance took place the following night at the Golden Dome where Marconi wrestled Danny Doring in front of 2,300 people.

Steel City Wrestling (1998–1999)

In early-1998, Marconi returned to SCW and would hold the SCW Heavyweight, Television, and Tag Team titles within the span of a year. On February 8, Marconi and Frank Stalletto reunited to wrestle Cactus Jack & The Blue Meanie for the vacant SCW Tag Team Championship in Irwin, Pennsylvania. On March 8, Marconi wrestled SCW Junior Heavyweight Champion Reckless Youth in a Three-Way Dance with Christian York at the SCW Arena in Irwin, Pennsylvania. Although unable to capture the tag titles with Stalletto, Marconi won the belts from The Bad Street Boys with Dennis Gregory two months later. On May 1, Marconi also won the SCW Heavyweight Championship from Tom Brandi after outside interference from Stevie Richards. On May 23, 1998, Marconi lost to Brandi via disqualification at an MAPW/SCW show in Medina, Ohio. The next night, he defended the heavyweight title against Julio Sanchez at Ainsworth Field in Erie, Pennsylvania. On June 29, 1998, Marconi wrestled Faarooq on WWF Shotgun Saturday Night. On July 10, Marconi lost to Tom Brandi in an "I Quit" match at the SCW Arena. On August 7, Marconi wrestled Tito Santana at an International Pro Wrestling show in Steelton, Pennsylvania. Marconi and Gregory eventually had a falling out and began feuding over the Marconi's title. In September, Marconi and Stevie Richards joined forces in a tag team match against Gregory and Tom Brandi. He eventually lost the title to his former partner on November 22 after holding the title over 6 months. On December 12, 1998, Marconi was one of several wrestlers who performed for "Christmas Chaos", an interpromotional event for Allied Powers Wrestling Federation and the Pennsylvania Wrestling Alliance, held at Elk County Catholic High School in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania. Other high-profile wrestlers included Tom Brandi, Julio Sanchez, Jimmy Cicero, Demolition Ax, and Doink the Clown. A week later, Marconi defeated Don Montoya for the SCW Television Championship on December 20, 1998. He dropped it to The Blue Meanie in Weirton, West Virginia, a month later.
On February 21, 1999, Marconi and Mike Quackenbush unsuccessfully challenged SCW Tag Team Champions The Bad Street Boys at the SCW Arena. On May 15, Marconi was one of three SCW wrestlers to represent the promotion at "Break The Barrier" where he wrestled Don Montoya and Mike Quackenbush in a Three-Way Dance to crown the first-ever SCW Lord of the Dance Champion. The supercard was one of the biggest independent shows ever held in the United States with over 15 independent promotions taking part. Jay Kirell called the Lord of the Dance bout "by far the match of the night" and greatly enhanced the early career of Quackenbush. Five days later in Cambridge, Ohio, he faced T. Rantula in a street fight match with Mankind as special guest referee. On July 26, Marconi wrestled Test on WWF Shotgun Saturday Night. Marconi also wrestled Mideon on the November 22nd edition of WWF Jakked.
On January 14, 2000, Marconi and Paul Atlas won the NWA East Tag Team Championship from Kingdom James in North Versailles. James was forced to defend the belts in a handicap match when his partner Shawn Patrick did not appear at the event. The two held the tag titles for five months before losing them to James and Patrick on May 19, 2000. That same month, Marconi made one of his last appearances in SCW wrestling a Three-Way Dance with T. Rantula and Dennis Gregory in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Marconi briefly feuded with Notorious Norm but made peace with his longtime manager before leaving the promotion.