In the late 19th and early 20th century, a reported four million Italians migrated to the United States of America up until the 1920s. As a result of this wave of migration, many Americans have Italian ancestry that dates back a few generations. As most wrestlers in WWE are American, it's unsurprising that some of the best wrestlers have Italian heritage.
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While Italy doesn't have a thriving wrestling scene, unlike other countries in the region like Germany and the United Kingdom, there is a small independent scene in the country existing in cities like Pisa and Milan. Some wrestlers have even been given Italian gimmicks, with Santino Marella playing an Italian wrestler despite being born and raised in Canada.
There are quite simply some major icons in the industry that have an Italian heritage.
10 Dino Bravo
Dino Bravo didn't only have Italian heritage, the former Canadian and Tag Team Champion in WWE was born in the city of Campobasso in the southern region of Molise before Bravo's family moved to Canada when he was a child. Bravo would sign full-time for WWE in 1986, despite previously wrestling for the company during the 1970s. Bravo would wrestle for WWE until he retired from professional wrestling in 1992 to help train wrestlers in his native Montreal.
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Less than a year after retiring from wrestling, Bravo was found dead in his apartment after he was shot 11 times. While the murder remains unsolved, it is strongly believed that Bravo was working for the mafia and was murdered as a result.
9 Gorilla Monsoon
Gorilla Monsoon will forever be a WWE legend. Monsoon, whose real name was Robert Marella, wrestled for WWE before becoming an owning partner. Monsoon would remain a minority owner until Vince McMahon Jr. purchased his shares. Even after the sale Monsoon continued to be employed by the company, working as a commentator, manager, and on-screen president.
Monsoon was such an essential figure in WWE that the position behind the curtain at wrestling shows is named in his honor, and Santino Marella used the Marella name in tribute to the legendary figure when he made his WWE main roster debut.
8 Ivory
Ivory was one of the few wrestlers who get her start with the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (G.L.O.W), where she wrestled as Tina Ferrari. Ivory was eventually signed to WWE in 1999, and defeated Debra on an episode of Raw to win the WWE Women's Championship. In 2000, Ivory would join the hated heel group of Right to Censor where she would win the Women's Championship for a third time. Ivory would eventually depart WWE in 2005, wrestling for a short time on the independent scene before retiring in 2006.
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Ivory would return to WWE in 2018 when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Ivory's real name is Lisa Moretti and her father's name was Vincent Carlo Moretti, who was originally from southern Italy. Ivory would make her WWE in-ring return at the all-women Evolution pay-per-view in the battle royal as well as the 2022 Royal Rumble.
7 Bubba Ray Dudley
Bubba Ray Dudley wrestled for various promotions over his career, making a name for himself in ECW as a part of the Dudley Family before moving to WWE alongside D-von Dudley. Bubba Ray would eventually move to TNA, where he developed the Bully Ray character, winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Bubba Ray Dudley is also a highly decorated tag team championship, having had 10 tag team title reigns in WWE, 8 tag team title reigns in ECW, 3 tag team title reigns in TNA, and 2 tag team title reigns in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
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Bubba Ray's real name is Mark LoMonaco and his father's family originally comes from Sicily, a large island off the coast of southern Italy. Bubba Ray's mother is also Italian, and her family comes from the city of Bari which is also in southern Italy but is located on the eastern side of the mainland.
6 Tommaso Ciampa
Anyone that has followed Tommaso Ciampa's career will remember him earning the nickname of the Sicilian psychopath. After beginning his training with Killer Kowalski, Ciampa made his first WWE appearance in 2005, appearing as the lawyer for Muhammad Hassan and wrestling a few matches on Velocity and Heat. After a long stint on the independent wrestling scene, Ciampa returned to WWE in 2015 on NXT.
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Ciampa is now a 2-time NXT Champion and former NXT Tag Team Champion before being called up to the main roster in 2022. Ciampa last wrestled in September 2022, challenging Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship but hasn't been seen on WWE television since.
5 Alundra Blayze
When Alundra Blayze joined WWE in 1993, the company re-instated the Women's title which had been inactive since 1990 when the former champion, Rockin Robin, left the WWE. Blayze held the championship three times over two years, briefly dropping the title to Bull Nakano and Bertha Faye before Blayze left WWE to sign with WCW. On her WCW re-debut, Blayze announced herself as Madusa and dropped the WWE Women's Championship in a trash can at the commentary booth.
Blayze would retire from wrestling in 2001 after rumors that Vince McMahon was set to purchase the WCW but eventually returned to WWE when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015. While there is some contention about the matter, several sources have Blayze being born in Milan, Italy while other sources have her being born in Minneapolis.
4 Roman Reigns
Every wrestling fan knows that Roman Reigns is a part of the legendary Anoa'i wrestling family that includes Rikishi, Rosey, Umaga, the Usos, Yokozuna, The Wild Samoans, Nia Jax, and the Rock. However, while Reigns' father is Samoan, his mother's family is originally from Italy. While his parents had four children, including Roman, together, they are no longer together.
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Reigns has already had an impressive career since making his main roster debut as one-third of the Shield. Reigns is currently the Universal and WWE Champion heading into WrestleMania where he will face off against Cody Rhodes in the Main Event.
3 Randy Savage
Randy Savage was the eldest son of American-Italian wrestler and promoter Angelo Poffo. The Poffo family ran the International Championship Wrestling promotion before selling the promotion to Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler. As most wrestling fans would know, Randy Savage would start his career in his father's promotion before being signed by WWE in 1985 as a highly touted free agent. Savage would win the Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Championship before jumping to WCW in 1994.
Savage would win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, wrestling for the promotion until it was sold to WWE. Savage's final appearance in professional wrestling came in 2004 when he wrestled at TNA's 2004 Turning Point pay-per-view in a six-man tag match alongside AJ Styles, and Jeff Hardy against Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Jeff Jarrett. Savage would pass away in 2011 after suffering a heart attack and was finally inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.
2 Hulk Hogan
While many wrestling fans will criticize Hogan's stranglehold over professional wrestling, his backstage politicking, or his history of racism, his popularity during the Golden Era is undeniable. Hogan is a former WWE and WCW World Heavyweight Champion and is now a two-time inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.
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Hogan, whose real surname is Bollea, has Italian heritage via his father, Peter Bollea. Hogan's paternal grandfather, also named Peter, was born in Italy before migrating to the United States.
1 Bruno Sammartino
To this day, Bruno Sammartino continues to hold the record for the longest reign with the WWE Championship, and considering the reign lasted eight years, it's unlikely that the mark will ever be beaten. While Sammartino wrestled in a different era, he still achieved incredible success in professional wrestling, frequently selling out WWE's home arena of Madison Square Garden for a record amount of times.
Sammartino was so popular that when he lost the title to Ivan Koloff in 1971, the crowd was stunned into silence. The fans were so shocked by the upset that they didn't know how to respond. The crowd was so quiet that Sammartino believed that he must have damaged his ears during the encounter.
