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Perry Saturn

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Perry Saturn
Satullo in 1998 after a WCW Monday Nitro event
Birth namePerry Arthur Satullo
Born (1966-10-25) October 25, 1966 (age 58)[1]
Cleveland, Ohio
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)The Gargoyle
The Iron Horseman[2]
Perry Saturn[3]
Saturn[2]
Billed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[4]
Billed weight241 lb (109 kg)[4]
Billed fromBoston, Massachusetts[4]
Trained byKiller Kowalski[3]
DebutOctober 27, 1990

Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Perry Saturn.[1] Since debuting in 1990, Saturn has wrestled for promotions including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Championships won by Saturn include the ECW World Tag Team Championship (with John Kronus as The Eliminators) and WCW World Tag Team Championship (with Raven as The Flock and with Chris Benoit as The Revolution).

Career

Early career

Satullo enlisted in the United States Army for four years at the age of seventeen, becoming an Army Airborne Ranger before eventually embarking on a career in professional wrestling.[5]

Satullo began training at Killer Kowalski's school in Malden, Massachusetts around 1988, taking the ring name Saturn from the Roman god of the same name before later tweaking it to Perry Saturn. He debuted on October 27, 1990 in Waltham, Massachusetts, wrestling for the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). Satullo also wrestled in Kowalski's International Wrestling Federation as The Iron Horseman, a cowboy[2] complete with black leather stetson and chaps. Satullo eventually won the IWF Light Heavyweight Championship. Satullo began wrestling for independent promotions throughout New England, as well as touring Japan with New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1993. In 1992 he worked as a jobber in WWF.

While working as the manager of a nightclub in Boston, Satullo met bouncer George Caiazzo, who expressed an interest in becoming a wrestler. Satullo sent Caiazzo to Kowalski's school to train, and then offered to form a tag team with him.[2] The Greek equivalent of the god Saturn was Cronus, so Satullo chose the ring name "John Kronus" for Caiazzo. As Saturn and Cronus were their cultures' respective gods of the harvest, Satullo proposed that they be known as "The Harvesters of Sorrow". Promoter Jerry Lawler advised Satullo that the significance of the name would not be evident to many fans, so they became known as The Eliminators.

The Eliminators wrestled their first match together at a USWA house show in 1993. They were hired at a starting salary of $40 a week (they later successfully negotiated a 100% pay rise), and shared an apartment with four other wrestlers. The Eliminators won the World Tag Team Championship on May 2, 1994 from Satullo's mentor, Eddie Gilbert, and Brian Christopher. They held the titles until June 13 when they were defeated by PG-13. Satullo later traveled to Japan with Caiazzo to wrestle for Wrestle Association "R".

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995–1997)

The compactly-built and heavily-tattooed Satullo and the high-flying Caiazzo caught the attention of Paul Heyman's Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) when they were brought in to job to the Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott), and the Eliminators were hired by ECW in 1995.[5] Heyman quickly abandoned plans to give them a sadism and masochism gimmick and instead booked them as an unstoppable force in the ECW tag division, giving them a manager, Jason. The Eliminators captured the ECW Tag Team Titles three times between 1996 and 1997, and feuded with teams such as The Gangstas and The Pitbulls. After The Pitbulls' manager Francine cut Saturn's hair, he shaved his head in a homage to Mickey Knox, the character depicted by Woody Harrelson in Natural Born Killers (in reality, Satullo was beginning to go bald).

Satullo was a trainer in the ECW House of Hardcore, a professional wrestling school[2] at which Taz and Mikey Whipwreck also taught. Saturn was respected for his focus and drive on fundamentals and technical wrestling.

On May 31, 1997 in Trenton, New Jersey, Satullo tore his ACL when he landed on a crutch while executing a kick on Big Dick Dudley. After intense reconstructive surgery, Satullo was given a recovery time of up to a year. He began rehabilitating after two months and returned to action in August. Satullo, however, had become impatient with what he regarded as Caiazzo's lack of motivation and dedication, and refused to reform the Eliminators.[2] Paul Heyman offered to release him from his contract if he could find alternate employment, and Satullo entered into negotiations with World Championship Wrestling.

World Championship Wrestling (1997–2000)

On August 28, 1997 Satullo was offered a job by WCW road agent Terry Taylor, who had been impressed by a bump that Satullo had taken in a scaffold match. He debuted in WCW on September 8, facing Billy Kidman, but was sidelined for a month afterwards as his knee had still not entirely healed. Later that year, both Saturn and Kidman would go on to join The Flock, a heel stable of misfits and misanthropists led by the nihilistic Raven. Saturn's childhood was referenced, with Raven bringing up the violence Saturn incurred at the hands of his stepfather. The enforcer of The Flock, Saturn would win gold on November 3, 1997 when he defeated Disco Inferno to win the World Television Championship. He held the title for a month before losing it back to Inferno in a rematch.

Beginning in 1998, Saturn began feuding with Glacier after Saturn's usage of the Super Kick offended Glacier, who deemed it a plagiarism of his Cryonic Kick finisher. Later in the year, Saturn was defeated by fellow Flock member Van Hammer in a "Loser Leaves The Flock" match. However, Raven opted to throw Hammer out of the Flock instead. Problems began to arise between Raven and Saturn, and the latter eventually left The Flock, turning face by standing up to the domineering Raven. Raven held all the other Flock members in thrall, so Saturn challenged him to match for the September 13 Fall Brawl pay-per-view. If Saturn won, The Flock would be freed, but if Raven won, Saturn would become his slave.

In the meantime, on the August 26 episode of Nitro, Raven's lackey Lodi challenged him to a match, with the stipulation that Lodi would leave The Flock if Saturn won, and Saturn would become Lodi's servant until Fall Brawl if he lost. Saturn unexpectedly lost following copious interference from The Flock, and Lodi forced Saturn to carry his bags, made him hold up pro-Lodi signs at ringside, and ordered him to chant Lodi's name while Lodi wrestled. Lodi also used Saturn to defeat the enemies of The Flock.

Raven began questioning whether Saturn could "hurt those he wants to free so badly" and forced him to face Riggs. Saturn won cleanly, but refused Raven's order to break Riggs' fingers. When Saturn refused, Raven broke his fingers (Saturn would not break his agreement with Lodi because of a personal honor code which would not allow him to break his word, and Lodi ordered him to allow Raven to harm him). Raven repeatedly tried to goad Saturn into breaking his word, but was unable to do so. Finally, on September 13 at Fall Brawl, Saturn defeated Raven with help from Kidman, disbanding The Flock forever.[6]

Saturn went on to feud with Eddie Guerrero and Ernest Miller before beginning a rivalry with Chris Jericho. After Jericho cost Saturn a number of matches with the help of crooked referee Scott Dickinson, he mocked Saturn's complaints and accused him of crying "like a schoolgirl." This led to Jericho challenging Saturn to a "loser wears a dress for ninety days" match at Souled Out on January 17, 1999, which he won after some suspect officiating from Dickinson. Taking on a bizarre, goth transvestite gimmick, Saturn began wearing a variety of dresses to the ring and using a variation of Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" as his entrance music. He appeared to begin enjoying wearing dresses and even wore cosmetics to complement them. Saturn finally stopped wearing them after defeating Jericho in a dog collar match at WCW Uncensored on March 14, 1999.[7][8]

Raven and Saturn reunited in March 1999, feuding with Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit, members of the Four Horsemen. At Slamboree the former Flock members defeated Benoit and Malenko and champions Rey Misterio, Jr. and Billy Kidman for the World Tag Team Championship. After Raven was injured, Saturn lost the titles to Bam Bam Bigelow and Diamond Dallas Page when Chris Kanyon, who substituted for Raven, betrayed him. He then teamed with Benoit in order to regain the titles. They were successful, but lost the titles several days later to Page and Kanyon. Benoit and Saturn continued to team together, and eventually formed a stable with Shane Douglas and Dean Malenko known as The Revolution. After Benoit left the Revolution to align himself with Bret Hart, the remainder of the stable began feuding with him. They then moved on to feuds with Jim Duggan and the Filthy Animals before disbanding.

After booker Kevin Sullivan told Satullo that he believed Satullo was incapable of getting over with fans, he began negotiating with the World Wrestling Federation. In January 2000, Satullo, along with Benoit, Malenko and Eddie Guerrero, was granted a release from WCW and signed a three year contract with the WWF.[5][8][9]

World Wrestling Federation (2000–2002)

Benoit, Guerrero, Saturn, and Malenko, dubbed The Radicalz, debuted in the WWF on January 31, 2000. They appeared in the front row of a live episode of Raw and brawled with the New Age Outlaws after The Road Dogg literally fell into their laps. Cactus Jack urged them to help him fight the heel McMahon-Helmsley Faction, but they quickly turned on Jack in order to gain employment from Triple H, who was then controlling the WWF. Benoit left the group amiably when he became sidetracked by his feud with Chris Jericho, and the three remaining Radicalz began feuding with Too Cool and Chyna. After Guerrero left to be with Chyna, Saturn and Malenko teamed together for a while before disbanding.[5][10]

Saturn moved into the Hardcore division, pursuing then-champion Crash Holly. After Malenko tried to win the Hardcore Championship for himself, the former partners turned on one another. Guerrero was drawn into their feud, leading to a triple threat match at Judgment Day with Guerrero's European Championship on the line. Guerrero was able to retain with the assistance of Chyna.

Saturn was later joined by Terri Runnels, who became his manager and onscreen girlfriend. After failing to proceed in the King of the Ring tournament, Saturn went after the European Championship once more, finally beating Guerrero on July 23. Terri's rivalry with The Kat led to a feud between Saturn and Al Snow, and on August 31 Snow defeated Saturn for the European Championship.[4]

The Radicalz reformed in late 2000, feuding with the revived D-Generation X and defeating them at Survivor Series. That same evening, the Radicalz attacked Stone Cold Steve Austin during his match with Triple H, briefly reforging their alliance with Triple H.

Dean Malenko began trying to win the affections of Lita, the valet of The Hardy Boyz. This led to a feud between the Radicalz and The Hardy Boyz, with the former defeating the latter at Armageddon. Saturn helped Guerrero defeat Test at WrestleMania X-Seven, but Guerrero later left the Radicalz once more, again reducing the faction to just Saturn and Malenko (Benoit had left in early 2001), with Terri still accompanying Saturn. The remaining Radicalz returned to the tag team division.

After a match in which he legitimately attacked jobber Mike Bell, Saturn immediately underwent a significant gimmick change and, possibly as punishment for his actions, was involved in storylines about his becoming infatuated with a mop. After receiving head trauma in matches against the Acolytes Protection Agency and Raven, Saturn began acting eccentrically and speaking nonsensically, allegedly as the result of a concussion. Saturn began uttering the phrase "you're welcome" at inopportune intervals, and then fell in love with "Moppy", an inanimate mop which he believed was alive (similar to the Wilson Volleyball in the movie Cast Away). This gimmick went over well with the fans, leading to a face turn. Terri Runnels told Saturn to choose between Moppy and her, and was infuriated when Saturn chose the mop. She left Saturn for Raven, who would help her enact vengeance on Saturn by "kidnapping" Moppy and feeding 'her' into a woodchipper. Saturn in turn gained a measure of revenge when he defeated Raven at Unforgiven on September 23. After this, Saturn dropped the gimmick, but still remained a face.

In April 2002, Saturn reinjured his ACL, and was sidelined for four months. During this time, the WWF would rebrand themselves as World Wrestling Entertainment though this would not affect Saturn as he was released by WWE before returning in November 2002.

Independent circuit (2002-2003)

Immediately after his release Satullo worked for World Wrestling All-Stars in their European tour, mainly working against Sabu.[11] In 2003 he mainly worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003)

Saturn debuted in the Nashville, Tennessee-based promotion NWA-TNA on March 26, 2003, teaming with The Sandman and The Disciples of the New Church (Brian Lee and Slash to defeat the Harris Brothers and Triple X (Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper). Saturn and The Sandman formed a short-lived stable known as "Team Extreme" with fellow ECW alumni Justin Credible and New Jack. [12] On April 16, 2003, Saturn faced the debuting Mike Awesome, losing by disqualification after his stablemates interfered on his behalf. One week later, Saturn, New Jack and The Sandman defeated Awesome and The New Church in a hardcore match.

Saturn wrestled his final match with NWA-TNA on June 18, 2003, defeating Kenzo Suzuki by disqualification.

Retirement and disappearance

During April of 2004, Satullo was involved in an altercation with two men when he came to the aid of a woman that they were in the process of raping. He fought the men and was shot with a .25 caliber handgun in the back of the neck and in the right shoulder, to which he originally thought he had received a punch, (as stated in a recent YouShoot) as a result of the scuffle.[13]

Satullo claimed that he would return to the ring on September 17, 2004 to work a match for Frank Goodman, the promoter of USA Pro Wrestling. However, he later no-showed the event, claiming that the doctors would not clear him to wrestle. He was also originally scheduled to appear at the Hardcore Homecoming event in Philadelphia, but he did not appear and later refused to take any more bookings, saying that he was not medically cleared to wrestle.

Satullo then seemingly disappeared from public view and was not seen for several years. Family, friends, and his three ex-wives had no information as to his whereabouts. Furthermore, due to the fact that he missed the funerals of two of his good friends (Chris Candido and John Kronus) and the funeral of his mentor Killer Kowalski, some speculated that he may have been dead.[14] At the time, he was reportedly last spotted in Mason City, Iowa in 2007. He had been living in an apartment owned by former wrestling manager Sonny Onoo, In November 2009, the Wrestling Observer newsletter reported that Satullo had been found alive and well. In June 2009, he married a woman named Lisa Marie Kuhlemeier and they reside together in Albert Lea, Minnesota with her two children.

Satullo was backstage visiting former colleagues at WWE's Bragging Rights pay-per-view on October 24, 2010.[15]

Return to wrestling

In December 2010, 1Wrestling.com's Bill Apter interviewed Satullo about his disappearance.[16] Satullo revealed that, after being shot by a firearm, he became addicted to methamphetamine and was homeless for a few years. He claimed to now be sober and expressed interest in a return to the ring depending on his physical condition. It was announced in September 2011 that Saturn was scheduled for his return match on October 15, 2011 at the AWE Night of the Legends PPV show from Fishersville, Virginia facing CW Anderson.[17][18] Saturn won the match. Saturn won his first championship in over a decade as he defeated Arik Cannon & Sir Bradley Charles in a Triple Threat match for the 3XW Pure Wrestling championship on April 27 in Des Moines, Iowa. In March of 2013, Saturn wrestled at Jerry Lynn's retirement show for Heavy On Wrestling in Minneapolis, MN. He competed in the opening six-man tag match, where his team came out victorious.[19][20]

In wrestling

  • Entrance themes
    • "Still" (IFW) 1994
    • "Chronicle" (ECW) 1995-1997
    • "Cloverland" (WCW) 1997-2000
    • "Sirens" (WWF) 2000-2001
    • "The Iceman theme" (WWF) 2000-2001 (used while teaming with Dean Malenko)

Championships and accomplishments

  • 3XWrestling
    • 3XW Pure Wrestling Championship (1 time, current)
  • International Wrestling Federation
    • IWF North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time, first)[28]
    • IWF Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times, last)[28]
    • IWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Terra Ryzing
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • PWI ranked him #47 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the 'PWI 500" in 1999[29]
    • PWI ranked him #227 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
    • PWI ranked him #89 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with John Kronus in 2003
  • Universal Championship Wrestling
    • Universal Heavyweight Champion (1 time)[30]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Perry Saturn profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Loverro, Thom (2006). The Rise and Fall of ECW. Pocket Books. p. 107–108. ISBN 978-1-4165-1058-1.
  3. ^ a b Picarello, Robert (2002). Monsters of the Mat. The Berkely Publishing Group. p. 118. ISBN 042518594X.
  4. ^ a b c d "Perry Saturn". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2013-05-09. Cite error: The named reference "WWE" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d Himble, D. (2000). "On Another Planet - wrestler Perry Saturn". Wrestling Digest. Archived from the original on 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Powell, J. (1998-09-14). "Fall Brawl tanks hard". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  7. ^ Powell, J. (1998-02-22). "David Flair turns at SuperBrawl". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  8. ^ a b Walsh, J. (2003-05-18). "Perry Saturn Speaks On Moppy, 'The Dress', WCW Politics, WWE, more". ProWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  9. ^ Powell, J. (2000-01-25). "Benoit, Saturn, WWF-bound?". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  10. ^ De La Garza, E. (2000-03-29). "Wrestlemania 2000 draws near; SGA president falls". The Daily Cougar. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
  11. ^ http://cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=430&view=events#events
  12. ^ http://cagematch.de/?id=29&nr=426&gimmick=Team+Extreme+++
  13. ^ http://www.411mania.com/music/news/22738
  14. ^ http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/6583/124/
  15. ^ Meltzer, Dave (2010-10-24). "WWE Bragging Rights live PPV coverage from Minneapolis". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  16. ^ 1Wrestling.com "Back From Drugs and Homelessness Perry Saturn surfaces"
  17. ^ {cite web|url=http://www.gerweck.net/2011/09/16/former-wwe-superstar-to-wrestle-for-the-first-time-since-2002/%7Ctitle=Former WWE superstar to wrestle for the first time since 2002|accessdate=09/16/2011|publisher=gerweck.net}
  18. ^ {cite web|url=http://www.awesomewrestlingentertainment.com/night-of-the-legends-2/%7Ctitle=AWE Night of Legends|publisher=AWE|accessdate=10/04/2011}
  19. ^ http://www.prowrestling.net/members/artman/publish/MISCliveevents/article10030192.shtml
  20. ^ http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/VIP_Exclusive_Features_21/article_69491.shtml
  21. ^ a b c d World Championship Wrestling (1999-11-21). "Malenko, Saturn, Asya Vs. Kidman, Eddie Guerrero, Torrie; Elimination match". WCW Mayhem. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |citie= ignored (help)
  22. ^ a b c d e World Championship Wrestling (1999-06-13). "Tag Team title; Jersey Triad Vs. Benoit & Saturn". WCW Great American Bash.
  23. ^ a b World Championship Wrestling (1999-12-19). "The Revolution Vs. Jim Duggan and the Varsity Club". WCW Starrcade. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help); line feed character in |title= at position 39 (help)
  24. ^ a b c d World Championship Wrestling (1999-07-11). "Tag Team title; Jersey Triad Vs. Benoit & Saturn". WCW Bash at the Beach.
  25. ^ World Championship Wrestling, TNT (1999-11-01). "Saturn Vs. Eddie Guerrero in a "key match" w/ Torrie in a Shark Cage". WCW Monday Nitro.
  26. ^ World Championship Wrestling, TNT (1999-12-13). "The Revolution Vs. The Harlem Heat & Midnight". WCW Monday Nitro.
  27. ^ "Finishing Moves List". Other Arena. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  28. ^ a b Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2000). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  29. ^ http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi50099.htm
  30. ^ http://www.myspace.com/ucw.tv/blog

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