"Boston Bad Boy" Tony Rumble was born Anthony David Magliaro on November 6, 1956. He had a strong passion for professional wrestling and I used to smile when I heard the stories of how he would sneak into the Boston Garden as a kid to see the WWWF whenever they came to town. With very little formal training, Tony joined a host of other Boston-based indy workers to compete in ICW in 1984.

His first two opponents at an ICW TV taping were Abdullah the Butcher and the late, Bruiser Brody, a fate I would have wished upon no one! During his match with Brody, as Tony was tied up in the ropes, Bruiser unloaded one of his patented kicks into his face, "knocking out" one of Rumble's front teeth. Tony would later tell me that he actually spit out a Tic-Tac to give the illusion of his tooth being knocked out.

For the next two to three years, Rumble, who was at first known as "Tony Rummell" faced the best that ICW had to offer. From the Tonga Kid to Kevin Sullivan and "Maniac" Mark Lewin to former WWF Champion, "Superstar" Billy Graham, Tony faced them all! In 1986, Tony joined forces with Rocky Raymond to form "The Boston Bad Boys", a short-lived duo from The Combat Zone of Boston, Massachusetts. One video that I will always cherish is from an ICW TV Taping back when ICW "merged" with the AWA in 1986 as Rumble and Raymond took on The Midnight Rockers, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, a bout that, unfortunately, the Bad Boys failed to win.

In 1987, Tony donned a hood and a leather whip and became The Dungeon Master, a ruthless rulebreaker who ran roughshod over all competition thrown at him. As the Master, he even feuded with the popular "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas in a war that saw Atlas spill some blood at the hands of the demon who hailed "from The Palace of Pain, on the Island of Agony, somewhere in the Dead Sea".

As an active competitor, Tony Rumble and/or The Dungeon Master did not actually flourish into main event status. It was his other qualities, however, that would push him to the forefront of the ICW product. Rumble began working as a booker for the ICW TV show and also established himself as one of the top managers in the business.

Before Mark Calloway was given "The Undertaker" persona in the WWF in 1990, Tony Rumble managed "The Undertakers", The Henchman and The Punisher (Val and Tony Puccio) in ICW in 1989 when he "bought" their contracts from fellow manager, The Duke. Rumble claimed his first championship in a managerial role as The Undertakers won the ICW Tag Team titles from The S&S Express, Vic Steamboat & "Jumpin'" Joe Savoldi, with some outside interference from "The Boston Bad Boy" himself! Rumble would also go on to lead Tony Atlas to the ICW Heavyweight title and The Tazmaniac (now known as "The One Man Crime Spree" Tazz) to the ICW Light Heavyweight title.

Tony also hosted the very popular "Rumble Seat" interview segment on ICW telecasts, where at the end of each episode he would conclude by saying "No matter where you go, no matter what you do, BE BAD!!!". ICW regulars like Savoldi and Steamboat, Atlas and Robbie Ellis often frequented the "Rumble Seat" as well as nation-wide superstars as the Honky Tonk Man, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Dory Funk, Jr., Ivan Putski and even the diabolical Mr. Pogo found themselves on the receiving end of Rumble's unique interview style.

After leaving ICW, Rumble went on to form the Century Wrestling Alliance in 1993, which later went on to become NWA New England in 1998. It was in the Century Wrestling alliance that Tony broke me into the business as his Ring Announcer. Several of the International Championship Wrestling crew, such as Taz, Tommy Dreamer, Erich Sbraccia, Vic Steamboat, Tony Atlas, The Trouble Makers (the former Undertakers), "Surfer" Ray Odyssey and The Pink Assassin would go on to work for Rumble's CWA. 

The crowning moment of Rumble's managerial career occurred in October 1998 as he led his team of The Brotherhood, "Mr. Intensity" Erich Sbraccia and Knuckles Nelson, to the NWA World Tag Team Championship at the NWA's 50th Anniversary Convention in Cherry Hill, NJ, as they triumphed over The Border Patrol, The Extreme Team and the team of Tully Blanchard and Dr. Tom Prichard in a four-way Elimination match.

The mark Tony Rumble left upon the wrestling world will be remembered forever. Thank You Tony for all you did for me and all you did for the great men you guided throughout the years. God Bless and may you Rest In Peace.

LONG LIVE "THE BOSTON BAD BOY" TONY RUMBLE!!!

NEXT MONTH:

Next month we'll look at some of the individuals and teams from the New England area that made an impact on ICW.