Profile of Louis Mucciolo on Famous Like Me

Louis Mucciolo (February 10, 1971 - February 15, 1998) was an American professional wrestler better known as Louie Spicolli. He performed in Mexico under the nickname Madonna's Boyfriend, and for the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s. He passed away as a result of asphyxiation following a drug overdose.

Career

At the age of seventeen, Louie Spicolli began training with "Big" Bill Anderson after he met Anderson at a wrestling show held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. He debuted in 1988, working as a jobber for the World Wrestling Federation. He used the name Louie Spicolli as a reference to Jeff Spicoli, the character played by Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

In 1989 he travelled to Tijuana, Mexico with Tim "Leatherface" Patterson and his trainer, Bill Anderson, with whom he formed a stable known as Los Mercenarios Americanos ("The American Mercenaries"), a trio of masked heels who feuded with the Villano family. Spicolli was Mercenario III. The Mercernarios were forced to unmask in July 1991, and finally disbanded in 1992.

Spicolli worked on the independent circuit, appearing with Herb Abrams' Universal Wrestling Federation as Cutie Pie. He then travelled to Arizona in 1991, where he won both the Interwest Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship and the American Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship (as The Zodiac). After a short stint in the WWF as The Body Snatcher in 1992, Spicolli returned to Mexico as The Killer Blonde, and made several appearances with the Japanese FMW promotion. In 1994 Spicolli appeared briefly with Smoky Mountain Wrestling, feuding with Chris Candido for the SMW Junior Heavyweight Title. He left shortly afterwards and joined Asistencia Asesoría y Administración as Madonna's Boyfriend, one of Los Gringos Locos along with Eddie Guerrero, Konnan and Art Barr. He wrestled in a six man tag team match at "When Worlds Collide", as of 2005 the only pay-per-view that AAA has held in North America, on November 6. This led to Spicolli being offered jobs by many promotions.

In 1995, Spicolli returned to the World Wrestling Federation as Rad Radford, a fan of grunge music, and purportedly the boyfriend of Courtney Love. He feuded with the Bodydonnas, wanting to join (despite his comparatively poorly toned body) and was eventually admitted as a "Bodydonna-in-training". This lasted until Survivor Series 1995, when he was thrown out of the group because his physique was not good enough.

On December 15, 1995, Spicolli was defeated by World Championship Wrestling performer Chris Benoit at The Showdown at the Corral, a tribute show held to commemorate Stu Hart's 80th birthday.

In 1996 Spicolli was found unconcious by a neighbor after overdosing on Soma and suffering a seizure. He and was in intensive care for several days before making a recovery. The WWF, still mindful of the controversy that the steroid trials of several years before had brought, released him on condition that he would not work for the rival WCW promotion.

Spicolli struggled with depression before joining Extreme Championship Wrestling in July 1996, where he sided with Raven and feuded with Tommy Dreamer. He left the company on bad terms after owner Paul Heyman discovered that he had been covertly negotiating with WCW and the WWF. Moreover, Spicolli's continued drug abuse was an embarrasment to the company.

Spicolli signed with WCW in late 1997 and became the lackey of his friend, New World Order member Scott Hall, dubbing himself "The Real Innovator" in order to mock Tommy Dreamer. His first match was on the January 26, 1998 episode of Nitro against Juventud Guerrera. Spicolli later began commenating during matches, and impressed many with his wit, though he was admonished after making a joke concerning the Oklahoma City bombing after commentator Tony Schiavone refereed to a forthcoming "bombshell". Hall and Spicolli feuded with Larry Zbysko, culminating in a match between Spicolli and Zbysko being booked for SuperBrawl 1998 on February 22.

Spicolli had stopped taking drugs after renewed fears for his health, but the news that his mother was terminally ill with cancer led to a relapse. On February 15, 1998 Louie Spicolli passed away after overdosing on Soma and wine, choking on his own vomit in his sleep. He will be remembered as a talented and charismatic performer with a great deal of potential whose life was haunted by his inability to overcome his addiction.

Profile

• Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
• Weight: 258lbs (117 kg)
• Birthday: February 10, 1971
• Date of Death: February 15, 1998
• Hometown: San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
• Resided: San Diego, California
• Trained by: Bill Anderson
• Professional debut: May 5, 1988

Previous identities

• Louie Spicolli
• Mercenario III
• Cutie Pie
• The Zodiac
• Body Snatcher
• Killer Blond
• Madonna's Boyfriend
• Rad Radford

Finishing and signature moves

• Spicolli Driver
• Spinebuster
• Gutwrench Suplex
• Northern Lights Suplex

Championships and accomplishments

World Wrestling Association

• 2-time WWA World Trios Champion (with Bill Anderson and Tim Patterson)

American Wrestling Federation

• 1-time AWF Heavyweight Champion

Interwest Wrestling Federation

• 1-time IWF Heavyweight Champion

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Louis Mucciolo