The Mamalukes
Encyclopedia
The Mamalukes were a professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...

 in World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

.

History

The Mamalukes were formed in late 1999 when Big Vito
Vito LoGrasso
Vito Joseph LoGrasso is an American professional wrestler, of Italian origin, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling as Big Vito and more recently World Wrestling Entertainment and working for their "developmental territories" Ohio Valley Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling as...

 arrived in WCW and established a team with Johnny the Bull
John Hugger
John Hugger is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling as Johnny the Bull, World Wrestling Entertainment as Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli...

. They were managed by Tony Marinara. The gimmick was a takeoff of Italian-Americans in the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...

 which they played up heavily.

In late 1999, Disco Inferno began entering the ring with Marinara at his side. At WCW Mayhem
WCW Mayhem
Mayhem was a professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Championship Wrestling and held in the month of November in 1999 and 2000. It is noted for being the first wrestling pay-per-view named after a video game, rather than the video game named after a pay-per-view.- 1999 :Mayhem 1999...

, however, Inferno accidentally knocked his manager unconscious with a chair, causing his own distraction and loss of the WCW Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs...

 to Evan Karagias
Evan Karagias
Evan Karagias is an American professional wrestler and actor. he is a 3 time WSL World Heavyweight Champion-Biography:Karagias's father's family are of Greek origin...

. Marinara then left Inferno and joined the newly introduced Mamalukes. A war ensued between them with Inferno surprisingly backed by former adversary Lash LeRoux. The two Cruiserweights frequently pulled pranks on their three enemies such as tarring and feathering
Tarring and feathering
Tarring and feathering is a physical punishment, used to enforce unofficial justice or revenge. It was used in feudal Europe and its colonies in the early modern period, as well as the early American frontier, mostly as a type of mob vengeance .-Description:In a typical tar-and-feathers attack, the...

 Marinara.

The rival teams were pitted against one another at Starrcade 1999
Starrcade (1999)
Starrcade was the seventeenth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event. It was the twelfth Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 19, 1999 from the MCI Center in Washington, D.C....

. During the match, Inferno again attacked his partner accidentally, allowing the Mamalukes to pick up the victory. This led to Inferno becoming the Mamalukes' enforcer as a means of paying off his debt and earn their forgiveness. This forced Inferno to turn on LeRoux. He also became the Mamalukes' manager when Marinara left and set them up with twins, Lolli and Pop in a failed attempt to distract them while he escaped. In early 2000, the Mamalukes feuded
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...

 with David Flair
David Flair
David Richard Fliehr better known by his ring name David Flair is a professional wrestler best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling , where he held the United States and World Tag Team championships...

 and Crowbar
Devon Storm
Christopher "Chris" Ford is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Crowbar, where he was a one time Hardcore Champion, a one time World Tag Team Champion with David Flair and a one time Cruiserweight Champion, which he...

 and won their WCW World Tag Team Championship
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...

. They also had a substantial feud with the Harris Brothers who defeated them for the titles on two occasions and lost on one. The Mamalukes' final Tag Team title loss came at Uncensored 2000.

In April, the Mamalukes joined the New Blood faction with Disco Inferno at their side; however, after continually doing their dirty work, he left for the Filthy Animals
Filthy Animals
The Filthy Animals was a professional wrestling faction in World Championship Wrestling from 1999 until 2001.-Concept:The Filthy Animals was a group conceived after Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara were hired by WCW. The plan for the stable was to be WCW's version of the World Wrestling Federation's...

. The Mamalukes benefited from their association with the New Blood when Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...

 won the WCW Hardcore Championship
WCW Hardcore Championship
The World Championship Wrestling Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling. The title was defended in Hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the rules were changed so that matches began in the backstage area...

. Bischoff did not want this title and gave it to them jointly on June 7. The Mamalukes were then forced into a match on June 19 to decide a single Hardcore Champion. Vito won, and the two split soon afterwards.

When Johnny the Bull returned from an injury in September, 2000, he betrayed Vito and joined Vito's rival faction, the Natural Born Thrillers
Natural Born Thrillers
The Natural Born Thrillers was a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling in 2000. The name is a play on the 1994 film Natural Born Killers.-History:...

. Eventually the Mamalukes reunited in December 2000, They teamed together until March 2001, when the World Wrestling Federation bought out WCW.

Although the Mamalukes never got the chance to reunite again in another company, Both men would later become part of different incarnations of the Full Blooded Italians
Full Blooded Italians
The Full Blooded Italians is a professional wrestling stable and tag team that wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s and for World Wrestling Entertainment during the mid-2000s.-Extreme Championship Wrestling:...

 on World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

's SmackDown brand. They each teamed with Nunzio
James Maritato
James Maritato is an American professional wrestler, of Italian origin, currently working on the independent circuit. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the ring names Little Guido Maritato and Nunzio.-Starting out:While...

 who, in both the original and WWE version of Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...

, teamed as part of the F.B.I. with their former manager Marinara. Marinara later adopted the name Tony Mamaluke as a reference to the WCW tag team.

In wrestling

  • Double-team finishing moves
    • Catching hip toss into a sky lift slam

  • Double-team signature moves
    • Double axe handle
    • Multiple stomps

  • Managers
    Manager (professional wrestling)
    In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...

    • Disco Inferno
    • Tony Marinara

  • Entrance themes
    Music in professional wrestling
    Music in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...

    • "Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from The Godfather)
      Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather)
      "Speak Softly Love " is a song written for The Godfather , the first film in the Godfather trilogy. While its instrumental version is simply known as "The Godfather Love Theme", "Speak Softly Love" is the vocal version. The words are by Larry Kusik but the music itself is by Nino Rota...

      " (instrumental)

Championships and accomplishments

  • World Championship Wrestling
    World Championship Wrestling
    World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

  • WCW World Tag Team Championship
    WCW World Tag Team Championship
    The World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...

     (2 times)
  • WCW Hardcore Championship
    WCW Hardcore Championship
    The World Championship Wrestling Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling. The title was defended in Hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the rules were changed so that matches began in the backstage area...

     (1 time)
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