Salvatore Sincere

Salvatore Sincere
Sincere in 2009
Birth nameThomas Brandi
Born (1966-07-09) July 9, 1966 (age 58)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Johnny Gunn
Salvatore Sincere
Tom Brandi
The Patriot
Billed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Billed weight270 lb (120 kg)[1]
Billed fromItaly
By way of The Bronx
Trained byKing Kaluha
Debut1985[1]

Thomas Brandi (born July 9, 1966) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation from 1996 to 1998 under the ring name Salvatore Sincere. Brandi is also known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling as Johnny Gunn.

Professional wrestling career

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Early career (1985–1992)

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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. In World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Brandi went by Johnny Gunn. He achieved some of the most notable moments in his career while teaming with Tom Zenk. At Halloween Havoc 1992, Brandi partnered with Shane Douglas and Tom Zenk to defeat Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson, and Michael Hayes.

American Wrestling Federation (1994)

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In 1994, he competed for the short lived American Wrestling Federation (AWF) 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.

Extreme Championship Wrestling and independent circuit

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Brandi later joined Extreme Championship Wrestling and teamed with Tommy Dreamer to capture the ECW Tag Team Championships. They captured the titles from Johnny Hotbody and Tony Stetson in only nine seconds. Less than a month later, the pair would lose the titles to The Tazmaniac (later Taz) and Kevin Sullivan. Having suffered an injury, Gunn was replaced with Shane Douglas for a night, who turned on Dreamer to cost them the tag belts.[2]

United States Wrestling Federation

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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.

World Wrestling Federation (1996–1998)

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He then went to the World Wrestling Federation. He was one of a series of "jobbers with gimmicks" brought into the WWF in 1996 to help elevate the company's stars, alongside Alex "The Pug" Pourteau, Freddie Joe Floyd, the Goon, and T. L. Hopper. He debuted in July 1996 as "Salvatore Sincere," a villainous stereotypical Bronx Italian/Mafioso character clad in pink and white 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 also worked matches with some of the WWF's top names at the time, including Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and Dwayne Johnson (billed as "Rocky Maivia" during his debut match in the WWF with Salvatore).

He briefly feuded with Marc Mero over valet Sable in 1997. 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. He lost to Jeff Jarrett in his last televised match on March 17, 1998 episode of Monday Night Raw. Brandi left the WWF that April.

Return to the independent circuit (1998–present)

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Brandi performing as the Patriot in 2019

Since leaving the WWF, Brandi has wrestled on the independent circuit under both the Brandi and Sincere names, and sometimes wrestles or does autograph signings under a mask as The Patriot,[3] although without the permission of the original Patriot, Del Wilkes.[4]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Tom Brandi's Online World of Wrestling profile".
  2. ^ "Kaye, Griffin (2022-06-22). "10 Times Wrestlers Defended Another Competitor's Title". Pro Wrestling Stories. Retrieved 2022-07-25". June 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "TOM BRANDI RESPONDS TO DEL WILKES OVER USAGE OF 'THE PATRIOT' CHARACTER ON INDEPENDENTS | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "411Mania".
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  6. ^ "Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South Heavyweight Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
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