Tony Garea
| Tony Garea | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Anthony Gareljich |
| Born |
20 September 1946 Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Residence | Hamden, Connecticut |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Tony Garea |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Billed from | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Trained by | Wild Don Scott |
| Debut | 1971 |
| Retired | 1987 |
Anthony "Tony" Gareljich (born 20 September 1946) is a retired Kiwi professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tony Garea, who wrestled for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), spending thirty-two of his thirty-five-year career in the promotion. After his in-ring retirement, he was signed by WWE as a road agent.
The son of Croatian-born Ivan Gareljich, Anthony Gareljich was born in Auckland, New Zealand to parents of Yugoslavian and Irish descent. He was originally an accomplished sprinter and a rugby player.
Garea was trained by Wild Don Scott. He made his professional wrestling debut in his native New Zealand. He worked in NWA San Francisco territory where he and Pat Patterson defeated Don Muraco and Invader I for the NWA San Francisco Tag Team Championship in May 1976.
Garea left New Zealand in 1972 and went to United States where he signed a contract with Vince McMahon, Sr.'s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). He made his WWWF debut at a TV taping in the Philadelphia Arena on 20 September 1972 as a babyface, defeating Davey O'Hannon. On 30 May 1973, he teamed with Haystacks Calhoun and defeated Mr. Fuji and Professor Toru Tanaka to win his first WWWF World Tag Team Championship. Garea and Calhoun feuded with Fuji and Tanaka for the rest of the summer before losing the titles back to Fuji and Tanaka on 11 September.
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