Scotty Charisma featured in the Rockland Journal News (click for article)

Check out the Wrestling Clothesline Interview with Scotty Charisma (click here)

Listen to Scotty Charisma on the PowerBomb Internet Radio Show

Scotty Charisma is featured in Fighting Fit section of the New England Independent.  
Be sure to check out the website. 

RAMBLINGS FROM THE GRAY GHOST from www.assaultwrestling.com  12/16/02
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MUSINGS ON DARK OFFERINGS AND LA FAMILIAS INSTABILITY.
Hello again to all of my ACW Freaks.. The GRAY GHOST is back with another column, a little less than a week after another successful event.. DARK OFFERINGS… The nice crowd at CLUB ARKADIA was treated to another solid show, albeit not without some problems due to holiday travel.. Several talents continued to impress more each and every show in the eyes of the GHOST most notably SCOTTY CHARISMA… One of the best “HEEL” personalities in the company, Scotty shook off some major confrontations with SCOTTMAN to wrestle maybe the best match he ever has in ACW…. Against, THE EXCELLENT JOHNNY THUNDAR…

Dec. 13, 2002
NUNZIO A WELCOME ADDITION TO WWE 
by Phil Speer    (From www.wwe.com)

     James Maritato debuted this past Thursday for WWE's Smackdown show. This is an article taken from the WWE's website. We are all truly excited for James, and as many of you know I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. I am proud of you Buddy!

    To many World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars, particularly those who competed in ECW, Nunzio's WWE debut Thursday night on SmackDown! was long overdue. "When ECW went out of business, I was trying hard to get Guido into the company because I think he's a great asset," said Tommy Dreamer, referring to Nunzio by the name he used in ECW, Little Guido. "I think he's a phenomenal cruiserweight, but he can hold his own against any heavyweight. And with his amateur background, I put him up there with the Chris Benoits and the Kurt Angles." Others sing similar praises; they say Nunzio is one of the most versatile and tough-as-nails competitors in sports entertainment.  He's got the resume to back it up.

    Born in Howard Beach, N.Y., Nunzio (real name James Maritato) grew up in Nanuet, N.Y., located in Rockland County, about 30 miles from New York City. (He continues to live in the area with his wife of two years, Doreen.) At Nanuet High School, Nunzio played football, lacrosse and baseball, and competed on the wrestling team. While he admits that he wasn't very good at lacrosse or baseball, he flourished in football and wrestling. His junior year, he started at halfback on a team that was undefeated, untied and not scored upon the entire year. On Nov. 16, the team was elected into the NHS Hall of Fame. In wrestling, he competed at 177 pounds and, his senior year, collected 28 wins against seven losses, which is a school record in that weight class that stands to this day. Due to his success in amateur wrestling, the seed was planted for a future career in sports entertainment.

    Nunzio attended an amateur wrestling camp in Stroudsburg, Pa., during his senior year. There, he met professional wrestler Jerry Fazio, who was one of many athletes who competed as the Executioner; Fazio even wrestled for WWE in the 1980s. "I talked his ear off about (professional) wrestling," Nunzio said. "I was always a big fan." Fazio told Nunzio that, if he was still interested in sports entertainment after he graduated from high school, that Nunzio should contact him. Nunzio did just that, and Fazio sent him to East Coast Pro Wrestling School in Parsippany, N.J. After two years of training there, he went to Japan, and studied under Billy Robinson in shoot-style submission fighting. He spent a total of three and a half years going back and forth to Japan, where he wrestled in the UWFI promotion, competing as James Stone.

     He wrestled as Damian Stone in independent promotions, which is where Dreamer first met him. Dreamer said that his first meeting with Nunzio is memorable because Nunzio was the victim of a botched 450-degree splash. That night, Nunzio wrestled a competitor who claimed that he knew how to do the 450-splash, but the competitor's knee ended up crashing into Nunzio's face. "Guido had to have complete reconstructive surgery on his face," Dreamer said. "After the match, Guido stood up, his face was pouring blood, but he put his hands on his elbows, and he walked to the back. He put a towel on his face. I said, 'Are you OK, bro?' He said, 'Yeah.' "Guido's tough."

    When UWFI closed in 1996, he started up in Paul Heyman's ECW promotion. He had lost a great deal of weight from his days in the independent promotions -- in part due to having his jaw wired shut for five months after the botched 450 splash. According to Dreamer, Nunzio was nicknamed the "Sicilian Shooter" in ECW because of his shoot-fighting background. As Little Guido, Nunzio was part of a faction called the Full Blooded Italians, or the FBI, and teamed with the massive Sal E. Graziano. "He was having a very, very successful singles career, where he had standout matches against RVD, who was our ECW TV Champion," Dreamer said. "He went on to where he finally won (ECW Tag Team) gold with his partner Tony Mamaluke." He was also briefly ECW Tag Team Champion with Tracy Smothers.

    Nunzio continued to compete in ECW until the organization closed in early 2001. He is believed to be the only competitor to appear on every ECW pay-per-view (he wrestled in non-televised "dark matches" at the first two shows). A few months after ECW closed, WWE purchased WCW, making WWE the only prominent sports-entertainment organization in North America. But the company was in a state of flux -- with the purchase of WCW, the "invasion" storyline, the brand extension, etc.

    That may be why it took nearly two years for WWE officials to sign Nunzio; he finally received a phone call three months ago. "I was very happy," Nunzio said about the call. "I was surfing the indies for two years." Nunzio said he received two tryout matches with WWE -- Sept. 30 before RAW in Houston, and Oct. 1 before the SmackDown! taping in Lafayette, La. But Paul Heyman begs to differ; he says those matches were anything but tryouts. "He was in anyway," Heyman said. "He was sought after.

    Everybody wanted this guy, and the time was right to bring him here." Now that he's here, his peers say, he'll flourish if he's given the chance.

    "Given the ball and the opportunity, he will quickly rise within the ranks of WWE," Dreamer said. "I'm looking forward to watching him on SmackDown!, not just because he's my friend, but because he adds another element." Dreamer said with Nunzio's training and background, he can wrestle in a variety of styles. He knows the Mexican lucha libre style -- he had amazing matches with Tajiri in ECW, for example. He knows shoot style and could potentially have outstanding matches with Kurt Angle, Dreamer said. And he can also work in a more traditional mat-wrestling style. "I think he can achieve success whether it be in singles or in tag," Dreamer said.

    "I'm a big, big fan of Jamie Noble's too, so if Jamie Noble and Guido get together, it's one hell of a scientific wrestling team. They both have their fundamentals. I'm glad I'm not a cruiserweight because I wouldn't want to face Guido. And Billy Kidman better look out.

Oct. 14, 2002                                  LITTLE GUIDO SIGNS 3 YEAR DEAL WITH WWE

    I just want to take this opportunity to personally congratulate James Maritato, aka Little Guido, on signing a 3 year deal with WWE. As many of you may know, James is the person solely responsible for getting me into the wrestling business. I am extremely proud that he will be a part of WWE Smackdown on Thursday nights on UPN 9.
    Over the last year and half, it has been a tough going for James especially since ECW closed and WCW was swallowed up by the WWE. But through perseverance and determination, he never gave up and after 11 years in the business he is finally getting what he always has deserved.
    It was in March of 2001, that James first introduced myself and Paul Fuchs, aka Paul Enormous, to Mr. Gino Caruso of East Coast Professional Wrestling School. Ever since, James has overseen my career, and has always been there for me as a friend and mentor. Nobody has taught me more about being a professional wrestler, both in and out of the ring, then James. I don't know where I would be without him.
    I want to wish James and his lovely wife Doreen, all the best. Good Luck Buddy!

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