Antonino Rocca
| Antonino Rocca | |
|---|---|
Rocca in 1956
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| Birth name | Antonino Biasetton |
| Born |
April 13, 1927 Treviso, Italy |
| Died | March 15, 1977 (aged 49) New York City, New York |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Antonino Rocca Argentina Rocca |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Billed weight | 224 lb (102 kg) |
| Trained by | Stanislaus Zbyszko |
| Debut | 1942 |
| Retired | 1976 |
Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton, April 13, 1927 – March 15, 1977) was an Argentinian professional wrestler.
Rocca was a popular fan favorite and in some cities with both Italian American and especially Hispanic audiences, his following was exceptionally large and loyal. He also possessed Argentine citizenship and had a love for opera and was apparently described as having an excellent – if untrained – singing voice. Maestro Arturo Toscanini, a professional wrestling fan, was good friends with Rocca.
Rocca was posthumously inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame class of 1995 and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame the following year in 1996.
As a soccer and rugby player when he moved to Argentina, before World War II, and an overall athlete, Rocca was known for his unique, acrobatic, off-the-ground, flying wrestling style, which he probably invented, wowing audiences with his dazzling aerial maneuvers. He was responsible for the revival of the New York City Metropolitan-Area territory in the late 1940s, which would eventually become part of the modern day WWE. Rocca became one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in America during the golden age of television. He also had a successful tag team career, forming a popular tandem with Miguel Pérez. The two, along with their heel (villain) opponents, drew large crowds to Madison Square Garden on a regular basis. Rocca had an uninterrupted seven-year run of headlining or co-headlining every main event at the Garden.
Rocca started his American professional wrestling career in 1948–1949 in Texas, and his earliest days wrestling in the business are still not known. He had been trained by the legendary legitimate-wrestler and former world's heavyweight champion Stanislaus Zbyszko in Argentina. In the early 1950s, he held two regionally recognized versions of professional wrestling's world heavyweight singles championship while still headlining nationwide, frequently in territories where other wrestlers were the recognized champs. He was even described by then National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) generally recognized champion Pat O'Connor as the "uncrowned champion" in New York City, and it was O'Connor who, on television, challenged Rocca to a match (not held in New York City) to determine who was better.
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