| Gino Martino | |
|---|---|
 Martino in September 2008 | |
| Birth name | John Ferraro |
| Born | November 28, 1967 Revere, Massachusetts, U.S.[1] |
| Website | Official website |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gino Martino[1][2] Muscles Martino[1][2] Millinium Killa[1] The Golden Gorilla[1][2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (127 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Bruiser Costa[1] Rip Morrison Dan Petiglio Paul Zine[1] Ox Baker[1] The Iron Sheik |
| Debut | November 1996[1] |
John Ferraro (born November 28, 1967[1][3]) is an American professional wrestler and strongman, best known by his ring name Gino Martino. He has wrestled for Chaotic Wrestling, the Millennium Wrestling Federation, New England Championship Wrestling, NWA New England, Ultimate Ring Wars and Paulie Gilmore's New World Wrestling. Although based in the Northeast, competing most often in the New England region, Ferraro has wrestled in other parts of the US as well as in Canada and Europe.[4]
Ferraro has held championship titles in numerous promotions in his career. He is a former NWA New England Heavyweight Champion, NWA New England Colonial Heavyweight Champion, NWA New England Tag Team Champion (with Ali Mohammed), and winner of the 2004 Tony Rumble Memorial Rumble. He also feuded with "Big" Rick Fuller over the Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Championship during 2001, winning the belt twice. Nine years later, he was inducted into the promotion's hall of fame. He has been similarly honored by the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.
In addition to these championships Ferraro has won a number of brass knuckles and similar hardcore-themed titles, most notably, the AWA and NWA New England Brass Knuckles Championships; he is also only one of two men, along with Don Fargo, to hold brass knuckles titles recognized by both the American Wrestling Association and National Wrestling Alliance. He has been featured in New Wave Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, WOW Magazine, and Wrestle America; one magazine ranked Ferraro #39 of the top 50 brawlers in pro wrestling history.
He has won numerous tag team titles as one-half of The Millenium Killaz with Ali Mohammed.[2] He was also part of The Alliance of Violence with The Vachon Brothers in CWA Montreal, where he and Pierre Vachon became the promotion's first-ever tag team champions in 2006, and Demon Ortiz in Chaotic Wrestling several years later.
A legitimate strongman, Ferraro has performed feats of strength for numerous television and radio shows in New England, and at public events throughout the world. Often referred to as "Hammer Head" or "The Human Anvil", his specialty is breaking heavy objects such as concrete cinderblocks over his head. An assistant is generally used to drop bowling balls or operate a jackhammer or sledge.[5] He has also encouraged 300 pound wrestlers to stand on his chest while lying on a bed of nails.[6] In 2010, he was featured on Stan Lee's Superhumans.[7] Less than a year later one of his demonstrations in Milan, Italy, aired on Lo show dei record, set the Guinness World Record for the most concrete blocks (45) broken on the head with a bowling ball.[8]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Gino Martino". Wrestler Profiles. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Simpson, Greg. "Mindbender's Wrestling Greats: "M"". Mindbenders Wrestling Greats. Mindbenders.ca. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BM-Interviewwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
RTB-OCT2011was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The PWI 500." Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (November 2003): pg. 74.
- ^ "The PWI 500." Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (December 2001): pg. 74.
- ^ "The Human Anvil". Featured Superhumans. History.com. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
IT-LSDIwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).