ECW was renowned for its hardcore action and extreme violence, but Paul Heymans wrestling organization was good at other things as well -- including making stars out of sometimes lesser talents. One way in which Paul E. would showcase his mid-card stars was to put them into stables, often with a strange tongue-in-cheek approach. The Full Blooded Italians -- or FBI -- was one of these wacky groups that afforded wrestlers a greater opportunity than they would probably get on their own. The FBI were supposed to be -- as their name stated -- a group of stereotypical Italian-American goombas. There was only one issue -- aside from just a few of the groups members, most of the stables cohorts were obviously not of Italian descent. Little Guido Maritato -- later known as Nunzio in the WWE -- and his little brother Big Guido were legitimate Italian-Americans. However, there were also Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich -- two traditional Southern good ol boys -- as well as J.T. Smith -- an African-American. Despite their lack of Italian ancestry, these members would enact traditional Italian stereotypes like brash hand gestures, references to Mafia ties, and constant praising of Italian-American figures like Frank Sinatra. The group would initially serve as just a comedy act. However, after the departure of most of its members, and with the addition of Tony Mamaluke, the FBI became a more serious threat in ECWs tag team division. Little Guido and Mamaluke would feud with the team of Mikey Whipwreck and Yoshihiro Tajiri during ECWs final months. The FBI was revived in WWE as a more serious faction, with Chuck Palumbo & Johnny Stamboli as new members and Nunzio as its leader. Nunzio would capture the Cruiserweight Championship on two separate occasions before the group disbanded. The original FBI would again see a resurgence during ECWs revived run in 2006 before Nunzios eventual release in 2008.
Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.
