Gino Caruso, the owner
of East Coast Professional Wrestling and a 16-year
veteran on the mat, has done a ton in the wrestling
business. Competing in over 1,500 matches, wrestling
all over the indy scene, including the infamous ECW
and training wrestlers at his ECPW school has helped
Caruso earn a reputation for being a go to guy in
the wrestling business.
Today, his
Lake Hiawatha-based wrestling school is a breeding
ground for hot talent.
"I am proud
of all of my graduates. They went through the course,
they did what they were required to do, and they
graduated," Caruso told SLAM! Wrestling. "Some of the
more popular wrestlers that are known from WWF, WCW,
ECW, are "Crowbar" Devon Storm and Nunzio from
Smackdown. A lot of our wrestlers have worked dark
matches and have worked for WWE here and there. Guys
who have worked for other promotions include, Mike
Kruel, Johnny Thunder, Vic D. Vine, the list goes on
and on."
Training
talent is mostly the deal nowadays, but that wasn’t
always Gino’s job. Being a full-time wrestler, working
a rigorous schedule, and being in pain was Gino’s
calling. All the things that make up a professional
wrestler. He never complained that wrestling was too
hard or that he didn't want to do the job, nor did he
get involved in any backstage politics. Caruso worked
his way to the top of the independent scene and has
had the privilege of wrestling many legends.
"I have had
the pleasure of being in the ring with such legends as
Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson," he said. "It
was tremendous to learn from those guys and I try to
pass on what I learned to young guys today."
In 1993,
"Mr. Italy" Gino Caruso competed for Extreme
Championship Wrestling, then known as Eastern
Championship Wrestling. There, he fought the likes of
Kevin Sullivan and Public Enemy.
Since his beginnings in 1988 after training under
Rocky Jones, Gino has wrestled for WWE, WCW, ECW, ECPW,
NWA NJ, and many other independent promotions across
the nation. He continues his wrestling and does his
best to help out the newcomers and welcome them into
the wrestling business.
Now a
businessman, promoting one of independent wrestling’s
hottest independent promotions, ECPW, Caruso gets to
sit back and watch the action.
"Our thing
is family entertainment. We are the way wrestling was
15, maybe 20 years ago. We cater to the family and
that's our niche in the business," he said. "We are
very sucessful with it. I don't know of too many
promotions that have a weekly TV show that airs in
three different states. I don't know of too many other
promotions who last year ran over 50 shows in 5
different states. The last two shows we held, over
1,000 people attended. The Mayhem show we had 1,200
people and a week later in Jersey City we had 1,500
people."
ECPW has
also played home to many legends, the likes of
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, The Big Bossman, The Missing
Link, Koko B Ware, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Greg
"The Hammer" Valentine, Tito Santana, Larry Zybysko,
David Sammartino, and The Masked Superstar, to name a
few.
Caruso still
laces up the boots every so often to grapple with a
student or established star. But his passion today is
training, and he offered up some advice to the
youngsters dreaming of a career in pro wrestling.
"If you are
serious about this and you really want to do something
in this business, get to a school, learn the right
way, don't do it in your backyard, don't do stuff that
can get you hurt," Caruso said. "We have a juniors
program with ages 14-17 and an adult division which is
ages 17 and older. Learn the right way, nobody is
going to take your seriously unless you get trained."
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