During his tenure in WWE, Nunzio was a middleweight, primarily competing on “WWE Velocity” and was often used as an enhancement talent to highlight the strength of bigger athletes on the roster. Standing alongside the much older Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli, Nunzio was the leader of the stable of full-blooded Italians (FBI), which he believes helped push him up a notch in WWE.
Speaking “Rewind Recap Relive”, Nunzio shared his belief that the partnership allowed him to feud with The Undertaker in 2003. This led to a memorable spot where he made the sign of the cross before the Deadman took him down for The Last Ride. According to Nunzio, the moment was improvised.
“It just happened. I know it’s gone viral or something, and I keep hearing about it… I’m happy, I’m happy.” he said “But no, there is no story. He didn’t know I was going to do it, I didn’t know I was going to do it, it’s just something that (happened).
“Pat Patterson, I told that story (to him), he loved it. He praised it when I got back to the dressing room,” he recalled. “I didn’t even realize I did it until people started talking about it, but people see the little things sometimes.” Nuncio also said that the point got so much attention that he continued to do it live afterwards.
Nunzio’s initial run in WWE lasted from 2002 to 2008. Although he never returned to the company full-time, he wrestled Tony D’Angelo on WWE NXT in 2024.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Rewind Recap Relive” and credit ah/t Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.