Photograph of James Maritato.
James Maritato

Overview

James Maritato (born March 12, 1972) better known by the ring names Little Guido Maritato and Nunzio, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its ECW brand.

Career

Starting out
While attending Nanuet High School (located in Rockland County, New York), Maritato competed in football (as part of the school's 1989 State Champion team that went undefeated, untied, and unscored upon) and wrestling. He was later trained as a professional by Billy Robinson, debuting in the professional ranks in the early 1990s. Maritato then went to Japan to compete in the shoot style UWF International promotion.
Extreme Championship Wrestling
He stayed in UWF until 1995 where he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the name Damian Stone. He was later packaged as Little Guido and put in the comedy stable Full Blooded Italians (F.B.I.), alongside J.T. Smith, Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich.

During 1999, he became a "serious wrestler", although still accompanied by "Big" Sal E. Graziano. and proclaiming himself to be an F.B.I. member (though only the two of them were left). After his turn he was involved in some intense singles matches until late 2000, when he formed a tag team with Tony Mamaluke. The duo won the ECW Tag Team Championship in August of 2000 and held them until December when they lost them to Danny Doring and Roadkill. They continued to wrestle together until ECW folded in April 2001.
World Wrestling Entertainment
SmackDown! brand
When ECW closed Maritato wrestled for several independent promotions, mostly in the New York Tri-State area, often teaming with former partner Tony Mamaluke. They had a notable run in Ring of Honor before Maritato was signed by World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002.

Maritato was introduced on WWE TV as Nunzio, a possible reference to the mob/bodyguard characters Guido and Nunzio in the MythAdventures series of books by Robert Asprin, the (kayfabe) heel cousin of Jamie Noble on the December 12, 2002 edition of SmackDown! attacking then babyface, Crash Holly after he defeated Noble in a match. Nunzio began a feud with Crash after this, defeating him on several occasions before going on to face the likes of Tajiri, Shannon Moore, and Chuck Palumbo.

The team and cousin storyline of Nunzio and Noble soon faded and Nunzio reformed the Full Blooded Italians, this time with Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo but the team found little success. After WrestleMania XX, Palumbo was drafted to RAW, and the F.B.I. was reduced to a tag team. After Stamboli was released, Nunzio began competing in the cruiserweight division.

In 2005 Maritato returned to his Little Guido persona for one night, reuniting with the original Full Blooded Italians to take on Super Crazy and Tajiri in a Three-Way Dance at ECW reunion show One Night Stand.

As Nunzio he continued to perform on SmackDown! B-show Velocity as both a face and a heel, forming a short-lived tag team with Funaki. On the August 6 (taped on August 2) edition of Velocity, Nunzio won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Paul London after a new heel wrestler, Vito made his debut by giving Nunzio a blackjack, which he used to knock London out. Nunzio joined forces with Vito, thus becoming a full time heel.

The pair began feuding with The Mexicools and at No Mercy 2005, Mexicool member Juventud defeated Nunzio with a Juvi Driver to take the Cruiserweight Championship. Nunzio regained the title on November 15 at a house show in Rome, Italy but lost it right back to Juventud on the November 25 SmackDown!

Nunzio and Vito would both briefly make a face turn by briefly engaging in a feud against Gregory Helms. Later on however, Vito and Nunzio would quickly go back to being heels due to Vito's new god father gimmick.

A significant event occurred for Nunzio during a Triple Threat match when The Great Khali interrupted the match and threw him approximately 10 feet to the floor with no extra padding to soften the fall.

In late May 2006, Nunzio's partnership with Vito began to crumble after it was revealed that Vito (kayfabe) enjoyed cross-dressing, which made Nunzio feel betrayed and embarrassed. Nunzio ended his alliance with Vito.
ECW brand
In June when the ECW brand was launched, Nunzio left SmackDown! to join other "ECW originals" on ECW, retaking his Little Guido name in the process. The F.B.I. was revived again, this time with Little Guido as a face once again, along side Tony Mamaluke and Trinity and for a short while, Big Guido. The F.B.I. have been used for tag matches in ECW to either take on debuting tag teams or facing another tag team when a tag match is needed. At December to Dismember, The F.B.I. took on Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay in a losing effort. His partner Tony Mamaluke was released on January 18, leaving Guido and Trinity alone to carry on the stable.

After Tony Mamaluke’s release, Little Guido vanished from television. Only appearing once on ECW brand television (with the Little Guido name). After his hiatus, he later returned on the April 17, 2007 episode (in Italy, where he was well received by fans) using his old Nunzio name again but without Trinity. He has begun to make more appearances on Sci-Fi though usually without a full entrance. His most recent losing efforts came against Kevin Thorn and on the June 19 edition he lost to the debuting Johnny Nitro and The Miz. Nunzio then disappeared from television for a few monthes before on the September 11 edition of ECW,returning in a losing effort to Matt Striker. In a recent WWE house show Nunzio defeated Elijah Burke with a Roll-Up.

In wrestling

*Finishing and signature moves :*Sicilian Slice (Diving leg drop bulldog) - ECW / WWE :*Arrivederci (Springboard armbar takedown) - WWE :*Sicilian Drop (Inverted double underhook facebuster) :*Sicilian Crab (Seated elevated stretch muffler) :*Second-rope front missile dropkick :*Cross armbreaker :*Fujiwara armbar

*Signature taunts :*The fangul :*Points finger at his head, indicating he is smarter than his opponent.

*Nicknames :*The Sicilian Shooter :*The Extreme Stud :*The Pugnacious Pisant

*Managers :*Tommy Rich :*Vito :*Trinity

*Theme Music :*The theme he uses on ECW on SCIFI is basically an instrumental version of the Beastie Boys song "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn"

Championships and accomplishments

*Chaotic Wrestling :*CW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Luis Ortiz *Extreme Championship Wrestling :*ECW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Tony Mamaluke (1), and Tracy Smothers (1) *USA Pro Wrestling :*USA Pro United States Championship (1 time) :*USA Pro Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kid Kruel *World Wrestling Entertainment :*WWE Cruiserweight Championship (2 times)

Outside of wrestling

* On March 6, 2006, Maritato was seen supporting his brother on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal in which he won $25,000. *Maritato currently resides in New York City.

References

External links

Who is James Maritato connected to?
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How is James Maritato connected to Stephanie Finochio? Tell the world.

This biography says:

...He was later packaged as Little Guido and put in the comedy stable Full Blooded Italians (F.B.I.), alongside J.T. Smith, Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich....

This biography says:

...have been used for tag matches in ECW to either take on debuting tag teams or facing another tag team when a tag match is needed. At December to Dismember, The F.B.I. took on Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay in a losing effort. His partner Tony Mamaluke was released on January 18, leaving Guido and Trinity alone to carry on the stable...

This biography says:

...have been used for tag matches in ECW to either take on debuting tag teams or facing another tag team when a tag match is needed. At December to Dismember, The F.B.I. took on Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay in a losing effort. His partner Tony Mamaluke was released on January 18, leaving Guido and Trinity alone to carry on the stable...

This biography says:

...*Theme Music :*The theme he uses on ECW on SCIFI is basically an instrumental version of the Beastie Boys song "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn"
How is James Maritato connected to Frankie Kazarian? Tell the world.
How is James Maritato connected to Shoichi Funaki? Tell the world.
How is James Maritato connected to John Hennigan? Tell the world.

This biography says:

...Maritato was introduced on WWE TV as Nunzio, a possible reference to the mob/bodyguard characters Guido and Nunzio in the MythAdventures series of books by Robert Asprin, the (kayfabe) heel cousin of Jamie Noble on the December 12, 2002 edition of SmackDown! attacking then babyface, Crash Holly after he defeated Noble in a match...

This biography says:

...Nunzio and Vito would both briefly make a face turn by briefly engaging in a feud against Gregory Helms. Later on however, Vito and Nunzio would quickly go back to being heels due to Vito's new god father gimmick...

That biography says:

...The Natural Born Sinners were a dominant tag team in ROH, beating The Carnage Crew at the July 27 Crowning a Champion event, and also won at the August 24 Honor Invades Boston event, defeating Tony Mamaluke and James Maritato....

This biography says:

...Nunzio began a feud with Crash after this, defeating him on several occasions before going on to face the likes of Tajiri, Shannon Moore, and Chuck Palumbo....
How is James Maritato connected to Mikey Whipwreck? Tell the world.
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How is James Maritato connected to Yoshihiro Tajiri? Tell the world.
How is James Maritato connected to Mike Mizanin? Tell the world.
How is James Maritato connected to John Hugger? Tell the world.

This biography says:

...A significant event occurred for Nunzio during a Triple Threat match when The Great Khali interrupted the match and threw him approximately 10 feet to the floor with no extra padding to soften the fall...
How is James Maritato connected to Kurt Angle? Tell the world.

This biography says:

...Nunzio began a feud with Crash after this, defeating him on several occasions before going on to face the likes of Tajiri, Shannon Moore, and Chuck Palumbo....
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How is James Maritato connected to Tommy Rich? Tell the world.
How is James Maritato connected to Tony Mamaluke? Tell the world.
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