User:TheRealOne306/sandbox
Tommy Romano | |
|---|---|
 Romano in 2018 | |
| Born | Thomas Joseph Romano January 28, 1991 Staten Island, New York United States |
| Alma mater | College of Staten Island (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Professional wrestler, actor, mixed martial artist |
| Years active | 2006-2014; 2018-present (pro wrestling) 2014 (baseball) 2010-present (actor) 2014-2018, 2021 (MMA) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Becky G (cousin) Rok-C (niece) Ray Romano (uncle) |
| Ring name(s) | TJ Rockferd The Tom Tommy Gomez Tommy Rockferd Tommy Romano |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Billed from | Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York Richmond County, New York Cherry Hill, New Jersey |
| Trained by | Chris Hero (professional) Homicide (professional) Chaotic Wrestling (professional) Arthur Vallario (amateur) Mike Vaccaro (amateur) |
| Debut | 2006 |
Thomas Joseph Andrew Romano (born January 28, 1991) is an American professional wrestler, actor, author, musician, former professional baseball player, amateur wrestler and retired mixed martial artist. Romano is currently signed to Impact Wrestling where he performs under his real name and is a former three time Impact World Champion with his first reign of 504 days being the longest reign in company history. Beginning in mid 2020, he began occasionally making appearances in Impact partner promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling where he held the AEW World Championship one time.
In Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/Impact Wrestling, before wrestling under his real name, Romano wrestled under the ring names Tommy Rockferd, TJ Rockferd, and briefly Tommy Gomez. Outside of his time with his home promotion, he wrestled under his TNA ring name Tommy Rockferd and briefly in his early career The Tom, most notably for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he was a one-time PWG World Champion and the 2012 winner of the Battle of Los Angeles. During his time on the independent circuit, Romano is a former. He has also wrestled for various Japanese promotions including Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was a one-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, as well as most recently New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he competed in the Super J-Cup: 8th Stage.
After becoming disillusioned with TNA, Romano left professional wrestling in early 2014 to join the New York Mets organization of Major League Baseball but he was cut during spring training. He then pursued a career in mixed martial arts and was signed by Bellator MMA in June 2014. In his debut fight, Romano defeated Lee Chadwick which sparked a three fight win streak earning him a Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship opportunity. In that opportunity, he faced champion Ryan Bader but came up short losing via split decision. Romano then won his next fight against Muhammed Lawal and after his win he challenged Ryan Bader to a rematch which Bader agreed. In March 2017, Romano defeated Bader in the rematch to become Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion for the first time. Shortly after a successful title defense against Vadim Nemkov, Romano was sidelined with a herniated disc in his neck. After undergoing stem cell treatments and acupuncture to avoid surgery, he would return at Bellator 195, losing to Phil Davis via heel hook. During the post fight interview, Romano promptly retired from MMA. Romano was a box office sensation for Bellator as he took part in some of the bestselling pay-per-view events in company history, including Bellator 174. He also holds the record for fastest knockout at 7 seconds after knocking out Ryan Bader in their second fight. Despite retiring from MMA in 2018, Romano returned three years later defeating Yoel Romero at Bellator 271 via split decision.
In Novmeber of 2018, Romano made his shocking return to pro wrestling, rejoining Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA) after a five year hiatus. Upon returning, he became a prolific champion, having held the Impact World Championship three times with his second reign being the longest reign in the company's history at 345 days. Romano is also a former one time Impact X Division Champion and a four time TNA Tag Team Champion (3 times with Vordell Walker, 1 time with Eric Young). As well as being a mulit-time Impact Year End Award winner. Upon winning the X Division Championship, Lieto became the ninth Triple Crown champion in Impact history. Additionally, Romano was ranked number 3 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual PWI 500 list of the top 500 singles wrestlers in both 2010 and 2019.
Early life[edit]
Romano was born of Italian, Puerto Rican and Spanish descent on January 28, 1991 to Con Edison worker and 9/11 first responder Ralph Romano and pharmacist Christine Gomez. He has two older siblings, one brother Matt and one sister Nicole. Romano had an unnamed twin who died as a result of stillbirth thus making him, a womb twin survivor aka a twinless twin. Romano is also maternal cousins of singer Becky G and uncle of fellow wrestler Rok-C as well as the nephew of comedian Ray Romano. Prior to high school, Romano competed in various sports such as soccer for 10 seasons, baseball for 4 seasons, and basketball for 6 seasons.
He attended New Dorp High School in Staten Island, New York, where he was an amateur wrestler and was captain of the team his senior year. He competed in the 132 lbs, 138 lbs, 145 lbs, 152 lbs and 160 lbs divisions throughout his four year tenure. After graduating high school, Romano was offered two NCAA Division III wrestling scholarships with New England College and Kutztown University but rather than wrestle in college, he chose to become a professional wrestler. Romano later took night classes at the University of California, Berkeley where he earned an associate's degree.
Professional wrestling career[edit]
Training and independent circuit (2005–2007)[edit]
Romano started training in July 2005 and made his official wrestling debut at 15 years old in 2006 for Chaotic Wrestling, when he faced Evan Siks on June 4 for the PWF Mayhem Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. He competed primarily in the Tri-state area, including stints in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Jersey All-Pro Wrestling (JAPW), New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC), Northeast Wrestling (NEW), and Chaotic Wrestling. Throughout his early career, Romano predominately competed under the ring name The Tom. In late 2006, he appeared for Chaotic Wrestling, where he won his first title during A Night Of Grand Slams on June 24, 2006, in a Six-Way Scramble match to gain the Chaotic Wrestling New England Championship. He lost his title on August 6, against Thomas Penmanship. Primarily wrestling for NEW in 2007, Romano became 3 time NEW Heavyweight Champion which is tied for most reigns with Brian Anthony. Romano's longest reign as NEW Heavyweight Champion was 212 days which ended after he lost to Xavier in a three way dance also involving Jay Lethal. This ended up being Romano's last match on the independent circuit before signing with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)[edit]
The Death Krew (2007-2009)[edit]
Romano made his Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut on February 28, 2007, under the ring name Tommy Gomez when he lost to Tyler Black in a dark match at the TNA Impact! tapings. At the TNA Impact! the following night, Romano appeared in a dark match again as TJ Rockferd, teaming with Austin Starr against Serontonin (Kaz and Havok). The match ended in a no contest when the Team Pacman (Ron Killings and Consequences Creed) attacked the match participants. He appeared again on the July 26, 2007, episode of TNA Impact!, teaming with Kenn Phoenix in a loss to Team 3D (Brother Devon and Brother Ray).
On August 23, 2007, TNA announced that Romano had signed a contract with the company. At the August 2 tapings of TNA Impact! Rockferd was defeated by Samoa Joe. Soon after, Rockferd began to ally himself with fellow TNA newcomer Vordell Walker, with the pair forming a tag team. At the September 2 TNA Impact! tapings they defeated the team of Grizzly Redwood and Mike Sydal. Beginning in October, after defeating Consequences Creed twice with different tag partners Rockferd & Walker, now known as The Death Krew, gained their first TNA World Tag Team Championship match against A.J. Styles and Tomko at Impact! Live, where they were defeated. Rockferd went on to face former TNA World Champion Sting in a losing effort at Hard Justice. At the Hard Justice Aftershow, Rockferd lost to Tomko in a singles match and after the show, he attacked Styles's knee with a chair. At No Surrender, The Death Krew and Sting defeated Styles, Tomko and Christian Cage, which granted the Krew another title shot. Before their tag team title shot in New York City, Rockferd was hand picked by TNA World Champion Kurt Angle to be his tag team partner in a match against Booker T and Kevin Nash, but Angle turned on Rockferd mid match and formed the Main Event Mafia with Scott Steiner joining in on the attack. Rockferd faced his idol Jushin Thunder Liger in a GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship match, which took place at Bound for Glory in Atlanta. Despite losing, Rockferd received a standing ovation at the end of the match.
As the Death Krew gained contendership for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, they lost their initial match against Tomko and Styles, but the Krew attacked Tomko before putting Styles through a table. On January 10, 2008 at a television taping of TNA Impact!, The Death Krew were able to capture the World Tag Team Championship from Styles and Tomko in Full Metal Mayhem. At Impact! Live, the Krew took on the team of The Naturals. The match ended in 45-minute time-limit draw, the first time in TNA history that a World Tag Team Championship match had ended in a time-limit draw. The next weekend, Rockferd defeated Tomko in a singles match, before he and Walker defeated Tomko and Christian Cage in a two out of three falls match to retain the World Tag Team Championship. In March, Rockferd defeated Scott Hall in Hall's final match. The next night, at Destination X in Norfolk, Virginia, Rockferd and Walker retained the title against The Latin American Xchange in a cage match. On May 13, Rockferd faced Samoa Joe for the TNA World Championship in a losing effort. On June 8, at Slammiversary VI, the Krew lost the Tag Team Championship to the The Motor City Machine Guns. It was around this time that the Krew became enforcers for Jim Cornette's heel character as TNA Management Director, fighting battles against his enemies, most notably Beer Money, Inc. at Hard Justice and in a "Fan's Revenge" lumberjack match at Victory Road. During this time, they also feuded with Doug Williams and his partners Alex Koslov and Tyson Dux, facing Williams and Koslov at No Surrender and Williams and Dux at TNA World X Cup 2008.
At Turning Point, the Krew finally reached the top of the mountain again, defeating Robert Roode and James Storm to win the tag team championship. Their reign, however, proved to be brief, as they in turn to dropped the belts to Consequences Creed and Jay Lethal in their first defense, at TNA Impact!: Welcome to Liverpool. After this match, the storyline was that the duo felt they needed to "man up" due to losing the title in their first defense. Thus, the two faced off in what was described as "one time only" at Fifth Year Festival: Finale. The match ended in a draw, with both of them unable to answer the referee's standing ten-count. During the match, Walker broke his elbow while performing a suicide dive, thus putting The Death Krew on hiatus.
World Champion and Tommy vs the World (2009–2011)[edit]
On January 11, 2009 at Death Before Dishonor VIII, Rockferd received a shot at Sting's TNA World Championship, but was unable to dethrone the defending champion. At the TNA Impact! television tapings on February 16, Rockferd lost to Rhino in a match where Rhino's guaranteed championship match was on the line. Rockferd refused assistance from Jim Cornette, his manager, during the match, and attacked Cornette afterwards when Cornette claimed credit for making Rockferd the best wrestler in the world, ending their association and turning Rockferd babyface for the first time. At the following pay-per-view, Destination X on March 15, Rockferd unsuccessfully challenged Rhino for the TNA World Championship. On May 24, at Sacrifice (2009), Rockferd defeated Mick Foley to win the TNA World Championship for the first time. After his title win, Rockferd's ring name was changed from TJ Rockferd to Tommy Rockferd. On July 10, TNA announced that Rockferd had signed a contract extension with the promotion. At Final Resolution, Rockferd successfully defended the championship against A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels. Soon after, Rockferd began a trilogy with Desmond Wolfe, first losing to him in a non-title match at the January 8, 2010 TV tapings. He wrestled Wolfe again a week later at the following TNA PPV, Genesis, this time coming out victorious and retaining his title. Rockferd faced Wolfe at the next PPV and defeated him again on March 21 at Destination X thus ending their highly acclaimed feud.
During the Slammiversary VIII weekend on June 12 and 13, Rockferd first successfully defended the TNA World Championship in a three-way elimination match against Rob Van Dam and Sting and then in a singles match against his idol Kurt Angle. Rockferd's match with Angle was later given a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. On October 10 at Bound for Glory, Rockferd lost the TNA World Championship to Jeff Hardy, ending his year long title reign at 504 days. On January 9, 2011 at Genesis, Rockferd received his final shot at the TNA World Championship as long as Hardy was champion, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the title.
During the Genesis weekend, Romano legitimately no-showed a fan fest. This came after months of rumors about the backstage tension between Romano and TNA owner Dixie Carter about Romano's contract and payment he felt he should have, as well as doing an interview with Ariel Helwani without telling management. On the February 1 edition of Impact!, Romano cut a worked shoot promo about not being respected by management. The segment ended with Romano demanding to be fired by Carter, calling Carter a "f-ing mark", his microphone being cut off, quickly fading to commercial, and the commentators not referencing the situation after the break. The next day, his profile was removed from TNA’s website and his merchandise was pulled on TNA’s merchandise site.
Along with his former tag partner Vordell Walker, Rockferd was released by TNA on April 11, 2011. Rockferd's release was largely due to unprofessional conduct with social media after discovering that Maria Kanellis (his real-life girlfriend at the time) was having a real-life affair with "The Miracle" Michael Bennett. The public knowledge of the affair and Rockferd's release led to Mike and Maria receiving jeers from the crowds at TNA events, often resulting in chants of "You screwed Tommy!", and, "We want Tommy!". Mike and Maria used the affair and fan backlash to become a hated on-screen couple, which led to Maria turning heel for the first time in her career. Rockferd was re-signed for "one last match" against Michael Bennett at Bound for Glory in a hardcore "Fight Without Honor". Taking place in front of Rockferd's hometown crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom, the crowd was solidly behind him with raucous jeering and chants directed at Bennett such as "Tommy's gonna kill you!", and "Fuck him up Tommy, Fuck him up!". After, Rockferd defeated Bennett decisively, he was offered a brand new contract to return to TNA by Dixie Carter but Tommy ripped the contract up and hit Carter with a Jawsplitter much to the crowd's approval. This was Rockferd's last appearance with the company until his return two years later in 2013.
Ring of Honor (2011)[edit]
Immediately following his departure from TNA, Romano made his Ring of Honor (ROH) debut and appeared at the promotion's annual Internet Pay-per-view, Glory By Honor X, on November 19, 2011. During an interview conducted in the ring by Kevin Kelly, Romano insulted Carter, calling her a ring rat, a "gofer", and a "piece of shit". After Kelly attempted to end the interview, Romano threatened to "yank out (his) Johnson" and urinate in the ring. Romano was confronted by ROH president Cary Silkin, executive Jim Cornette, and wrestler Steve Corino, who had him removed from the ring by security guards. While being dragged from the arena, Romano attacked a plant sitting in the audience with a fork he produced from his boot. Although he did not wrestle for ROH, Romano made several further appearances with the promotion, engaging in a war of words with Corino, setting up a proposed feud. The feud never came to be as ROH ceased working with Romano as he refused to sign a contract with the promotion as he left ROH in the last days of 2011.
Return to independent circuit (2012-2013)[edit]
On January 5, 2012, Romano made his indepemdent circuit debut for Evolve Wrestling as Tommy Rockferd, where he teamed with Golden Magic to defeat Rey Escorpion and Flamita. On April 30, Rockferd returned to Evolve at Evolve 12, attacking Ethan Page and Josh Alexander. During the attack, Rockferd accidentally broke Alexander's neck when Rockferd threw Alexander with the intention that he take a face-first "pancake" bump, but Alexander attempted to turn mid-air and take a backdrop bump instead. He did not achieve full rotation and landed almost directly on his neck. From that point on, Evolve's head booker and lead commentator Gabe Sapolsky referred to Rockferd as "The Richmond County Killer". Rockferd wrestled his last match for Evolve on September 4, defeating Ethan Page.
On June 27, 2012, it was announced that Rockferd would debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla by taking part in the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles in September 2012. At the event, Rockferd defeated El Generico in his first round match, Rockferd advanced to the following day's quarterfinals, where he defeated Adam Cole. After a win over Sami Callihan in the semifinals, Rockferd defeated Brian Cage in the finals to win the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles and become the number one contender to the PWG World Championship. Following his win, Rockferd attacked the reigning champion, Kenny Omega, and left with his title belt. On November 1, Rockferd defeated Omega in a Guerrilla Warfare match to become the new PWG World Champion. On December 12, Rockferd made his first successful defense of the PWG World Championship against Drake Younger, and followed it with another retention against longtime rival, the WWE bound Claudio Castagnoli six falls to five in a 60-minute Iron Man match on January 16. Rockferd lost the title back to Omega at Black Cole Sun on February 26 in what was billed as Rockferd last ever PWG match.
Return to TNA[edit]
Death Krew Reunion (2013-2014)[edit]
On March 10, 2013, Rockferd returned to TNA at Lockdown, confronting and challenging TNA World Champion Bully Ray whom just beat former champion Jeff Hardy and became leader of Aces & Eights. Rockferd received his title shot against Bully on June 2 at Slammiversary XI, but the match ended in a no contest, when Aces & Eights interfered. Later that night, Rockferd reunited with Vordell Walker, reforming The Death Krew, to answer Gunner and James Storm open challenge for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. The Krew lost the match but announced during a promo that they're back and better than ever. At the June 5 TNA Impact! TV tapings, The Krew defeated The BroMans and Bad Influence in a three way tag team elimination match. Following their win, The Krew received a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Champions Gunner and Storm at Best in the World on October 20. At the event, The Krew defeated Gunner and Storm to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship for the third time. The Krew's first title defense was on November 17 at TNA Impact!: Welcome to Mexico where they defeated Austin Aries and Bobby Roode. Rockferd and Walker held the tag titles until TNA Impact!: Thanksgiving Special where they lost to The Wolves. On December 1, Walker was released from TNA, so this left Rockferd in need of a tag team partner. At Genesis on January 16, 2014, Rockferd and his suprise partner Eric Young defeated the Wolves for the TNA Tag Team titles but Rockferd and Young lost them back to the Wolves the next night at the January 17 TNA Impact! TV tapings. Soon after, Rockferd quit TNA to pursue a professional baseball career.
Second return to Impact Wrestling / TNA[edit]
Various feuds (2018-2019)[edit]
"Tommy Romano's appearance in his home city drew one of the most amazing audience reactions to a pro wrestler in U.S. history. The reaction was compared to Montreal's reaction to Hulk Hogan in 2002 shortly after his WWE return, or the reaction to Triple H in Madison Square Garden a few months before that upon his return from a torn quad."
— Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer on Romano's professional wrestling return in November 2018
Prior to re-signing with Impact, Romano had also had extensive discussions with WWE and according to them, Romano had agreed to debut with the promotion on their NXT brand and was set to become an immediate top star, before Romano's desire of wanting to "come home" to Impact was made public. After weeks of speculation and Impact Wrestling airing videos of a mystery man targeting Impact X Division Champion Brian Cage, Romano, now competing under his real name was revealed as the culprit in November 2018, challenging Cage for a title match at the final hour of Impact ReDefined on December 14. This marked Romano's return to wrestling after a 4 year retirement as Impact Wrestling announced his official return on their social media accounts through a two-word press release: "I'm back." At the ReDefined event, he defeated Cage in his in-ring return to win the Impact X Division Championship for the first time in his career. On December 31 at Impact's New Year's Eve Spectacular, Romano defeated Sami Callihan in his first title defense after interference from oVe backfired on Callihan. At Impact Wrestling Homecoming, Romano lost the Impact X Division Championship to Rich Swann, ending his reign at 54 days. On the April 10 episode of Impact Wrestling, Romano failed to regain the Impact X Division Championship in triple threat match that also included Dezmond Xavier. As apart of Impact Wrestling's partnership with Pro Wrestling Noah, Romano took a two month excursion to Japan to compete with the "best wrestlers in the world" and to take part in the 2019 N-1 Victory.
Second world championship reign (2019-2020)[edit]
Romano returned to Impact on the August 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, defeating Sami Callihan, Killer Kross, Johnny Impact and Moose in a Fatal 5-Way match to become the No. 1 contender for the Impact World Championship. The next night at Impact Unbreakable, Romano was defeated 2-1 by champion Brian Cage in a Two out of three falls match. Romano received a rematch with Cage for Lucha Invades NY, where he defeated Cage to win the Impact World Championship, marking his second reign with the title. In Romano's first title defense, he defeated Michael Elgin and former champion Brian Cage in a three-way at Bound for Glory. Romano then entered a storyline with Rhino, with the two exchanging victories on two weeks of Impact!, which ultimately led to an encounter between the two on December 7 at Turning Point, where Romano emerged victorious via submission. After the match, Romano embraced Rhino, but attacked him with a headbutt afterwards, turning heel in the process. Afterwards, Romano debuted a new dark character, using cryptic messages as he explained the reasons behind his turn. Following weeks of tension and attacks from both Rhino and Tommy, Impact management scheduled a match between the two at No Surrender. The match ended in a no contest after Rhino hit Romano with a Gore off the entrance stage into the sound speakers and other electrical equipment. A rematch was announced and made official for Hard to Kill on January 12, 2020. At the event, Romano defeated Rhino in a highly praised Texas Death match thus retaining his World Championship and ending the feud. On the January 28, episode of Impact!, Romano began appearing in segments involving returning Impact Wrestling veterans as a build-up to the company's TNA: There's No Place Like Home on April 3. In the segments, Romano would enter the ring and issue challenges to "the so-called legends" or "any former TNA champion", which resulted in him winning a series of squash matches, against the likes of Amazing Red, Chris Harris, Disco Inferno, Shark Boy and Suicide. On the March 17, episode of Impact!, Romano lost to Impact Wrestling veteran Chase Stevens via rollup which caused Romano to brutally attacked Stevens in a bloody beatdown. Due to the attack, Romano was challenged by Stevens to the third official Elevation X match for the Impact World Championship which Romano accepted. The match was scheduled for April 3 at TNA: There's No Place Like Home. At the event, Romano retained his championship by defeating Stevens when he hit the Cyclone Kill knocking Stevens off the Elevation X structure through two tables.
Romano then slowly transitioned into being a babyface as he began a short lived feud with Ace Austin after Ace and his bodyguard Madman Fulton sidelined and attacked Romano during a backstage interview. On the May 10 episode of Impact!, Ace Austin defeated Romano in a non title match after an interference by Fulton. This led to a steel cage match on the May 17, episode of Impact!, Romano defeated Ace, thus retaining his title. After months of hatred and animosity from Impact management, Romano was scheduled to defend his world title in a five way elimination match at Slammiversary against Trey Miguel, Ace Austin, Eddie Edwards and Rich Swann. At the event on July 18, Romano retained his title last eliminating Eddie Edwards. After the match and during the post match celebration, Romano was viciously attacked by the returning EC3 thus igniting a feud between the two. On August 25 Romano lost his title to EC3 at the second night of Emergence special, in the first 60-minute Iron man match in Impact history, losing two falls to one. This defeat marked the end of Romano's 345 day reign as Impact World Champion.
AEW crossover and third world championship reign (2020-2022)[edit]
From October to November, Romano participated in a tournament to determine the new number one contender for the Impact World Championship. At Turning Point on December 2, Romano defeated EC3 to win the Impact World Championship to become a three time champion. He won with the help of Impact Executive Don Callis, thus turning heel in the process. Following the win, he appeared for the promotion All Elite Wrestling on the December 8 episode of its program, Dynamite, alongside Callis, explaining a partnership between the two. Later on in the same night, Romano attacked AEW World Champion Kenny Omega thus igniting a historical cross-promotional feud between the two. On December 13, it was announced Romano would face Omega in a No Holds Barred match taking place at Night 1 of New Year's Smash on January 6, 2021. At the event, Romano lost to Omega in a highly acclaimed match after Don Callis turned on Romano helping Omega win the match. After the bell, Omega and Callis continued their vicious attack on Romano, who despite his wounds refused any assistance back to the locker room, thus turning Omega heel and reverting Romano back to a babyface in a rare double-turn.
At AEW's Revolution in March, Romano retained the title over Jon Moxley in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch. At the Rebellion pay-per-view in April 2021, Romano defeated Omega in a Winner Takes All match to retain his Impact World Championship and also win the AEW World Championship. The following month, he successfully defended the Impact World Championship at the Under Siege event against Chris Sabin and Matt Cardona in a three-way match. 15 days later, at Double or Nothing, Romano defeated Cody Rhodes in a no disqualification match to retain the AEW World Championship. On the premiere episode of Rampage on August 13, he lost the AEW World Championship to Hangman Page thus ending his reign at 110 days. At Bound for Glory in October, Romano defeated Page to retain the Impact World Championship. However during his victory celebration with his family, he lost the title to Moose, who cashed in his Call Your Shot Gauntlet trophy. This latest reign lasted 325 days, making Romano the record holder for most cumulative days as Impact World Champion at 1,042 days. That same year, Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him No. 1 on its list of the top 500 male professional wrestlers for the first time.
On October 24, the day after Bound for Glory, Impact Wrestling executive vice president Scott D'Amore announced he is allowing Romano to have a one-off fight for Bellator 271. Therefore Romano is taking a sabbatical to continue training for the fight before he would return to the company for Hard To Kill on January 8, 2022. On the pre-taped episode of Impact! that aired on October 28, Romano was viciously attacked by the debuting JONAH who later revealed himself to be Romano's Hard To Kill opponent. Romano returned on the December 2, 2021 edition of Impact!, threatening to "kick the heads in" of members of Violent By Design (which JONAH was allied with); later that night, he would knockout Rhino to win the match. For the next 3 weeks, would then challenge Violent By Design members in their hometowns and injure them, kicking out Deaner's teeth in Toronto on December 9th, straining Eric Young's ACL in Nashville on December 16th, and also knocking out Joe Doering in Chicago on December 23rd before being attacked by JONAH causing Scott D'Amore to make their Hard To Kill match a Texas Deathmatch.
Honor No More and Various feuds (2022-present)[edit]
At Hard To Kill on January 8, 2022, after their match, Romano and his opponent Jonah were attacked by Honor No More, a stable of Ring of Honor (ROH) wrestlers Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, PCO, and Vincent. In the following weeks on Impact, it was announced that Team Impact (Romano, Chris Sabin, Rhino, Rich Swann, and Steve Maclin) will face Honor No More at No Surrender. At No Surrender, on February 19, Romano joined Honor No More by attacking Team Impact, costing them the match, turning heel for the first time in two years. Leading up to the Multiverse of Matches event, Romano would defeat a plethora of NJPW talent including Alex Coughlin on February 24, Karl Fredericks on March 3, Yuya Uemura on March 10, Tomoaki Honma on March 17, and Aaron Henare on March 24. After defeating Henare, Romano would be attacked post-match by Akira's associates, the United Empire before Romano's group Honor No More made the save thus setting up a ten man tag team match between the two groups at Multiverse of Matches. At the event on April 1, Honor No More being represented by Romano, Bennett, Taven, King, and PCO defeated United Empire being represented by Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis, Henare and Jeff Cobb. On June 19, at Slammiversary, Honor No More would lose a ten man tag team match against Team Impact (Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Nick Aldis, Frankie Kazarian, and Romano's former longtime partner Vordell Walker). Per the match's stipulation of the losing team being forced to disband, Honor No More disbanded immediately after the match. It was reported that Impact officials chose to disband Honor No More prematurely because they failed to sign Bennett, Taven, and Vincent to full time exclusive contracts.
After the disbandment of Honor No More, Romano would go on a short hiatus until the June 30 edition of Impact! when he viciously attacked a returning Sami Callihan. This attack setup a street fight between the two at Against All Odds on July 1 where Romano would lose. Dave Meltzer rated the match five stars, the first Impact/TNA match since 2005 to receive such a rating. Despite Romano's loss and directly due to positive match feedback, a rematch was setup for Emergence on August 12, where Scott D'Amore announced the two will compete in a steel cage match. At the event, Romano subsequently defeated Callihan in their rematch evening up the score 1-1. After months of the two feuding, Romano would win the feud by defeating Callihan in a Dog collar match at Bound for Glory. During the match, Romano suffered a torn triceps and it was reported that the injury would keep him sidelined for four to eight months. After a three month hiatus, Romano returned on the January 5, 2023 episode of Impact!, as the mystery opponent for Moose's open challenge. Romano was unsuccessful in defeating Moose after an interference from Callihan. On January 13, 2023, at Hard To Kill, Romano won a three-way Barbed Wire Massacre against Callihan and Moose.
On February 24, at No Surrender, Romano defeated Josh Alexander, PCO and Heath, who Romano pinned, in a four-way match to become the number one contender for Brian Myers's Impact World Championship. Over the following weeks, Romano and Myers kept confronting and attacking each other until the March 6 episode of Impact!, where Romano would formally challenge Myers to a World Championship match at Sacrifice, which Myers accepted. At Sacrifice on March 24, Romano defeated Myers by countout after Myers ran out of the ring and exited through the crowd. Romano would then face Myers in a non-title match, on the April 6 episode of Impact! where Myers would win and attack Romano post-match in order to hospitalize him. On the May 11 episode of Impact!, Romano challenged Myers to a Steel Cage World Championsip match at Under Siege after Myers broke into his house the previous week. At Under Siege on May 20, Romano subsequently defeated Myers to end their feud and capture his fourth Impact World Championship.
Second return to independent circuit (2019-present)[edit]
Romano made his return to Northeast Wrestling (NEW) on June 14, 2019 defeating newcomer Brian Pillman Jr.. The following night, he answered Killer Kross's open challenge, and would later defeat him in a match. Romano would also make a surprise appearance at Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW)'s "Natural Born Killers" event on July 6, where he would wrestle Tom Lawlor to a no contest. In July 2019, it was announced that Romano would face Kenta at Game Changer Wrestling (GCW)'s Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 2 on September 14. After Kenta had to pull out of the bout due to visa issues, Josh Barnett would be announced as his replacement. At the event, Romano and Barnett fought to a time limit draw in the main event.
After 3 years of independent circuit inactivity, it was announced, Romano would be competing at GCW's Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8 against Simon Gotch. At the event, Romano soundly defeated Gotch via TKO in the first 13 seconds of the match.
Pro Wrestling Noah[edit]
Excursion (2019-2020)[edit]
On May 24, 2019, Pro Wrestling Noah announced that Romano would be working the following month's Destruction tour, once again wrestling under his real name. He made his debut on June 4 in a six-man tag team match, where he, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Go Shiozaki defeated Masaaki Mochizuki, Tiger Mask and Kenoh.
At Great Voyage 2019 in Yokohama on June 11, Romano defeated young lion Ren Narita, before declaring himself an entrant for the 2019 N-1 Victory. In the aftermath of the match, he also publicly claimed his appreciation for Narita and stated that he was looking forward to partnering up with him; Narita subsequently became Romano's manager and tag team partner. At the N-1 Victory, Romano, competing in the B block, won his first five matches against Kenoh, Go Shiozaki, Shuhei Taniguchi, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Naomichi Marufuji. He suffered his first defeat in NOAH on July 14 when he and Narita were defeated by Shiozaki and Marufuji in a tag match, after Naito pinned Narita. Romano would then lose his next four matches against Alexander Hammerstone, Takashi Sugiura, Masa Kitamiya, and Tiger Mask, failing to advance to the tournament finals with a final standing of 10 points.
On January 4, 2020, Romano made a surprise return to NOAH, answering the GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Hayata's open challenge. Romano defeated Hayata to become only the fourth gaijin to win the title thus starting his first reign as champion. Immediately after his win, Romano was confronted by Kotaro Suzuki whom also challenged him to a match at New Sunrise. At the event, Romano successfully defended the championship against Suzuki. On April 19, due to his absence from the promotion because of the travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, NOAH officials decided to vacate the Junior Heavyweight Championship effectively ending his reign at 106 days.
One night return (2023)[edit]
On October 30, 2022, Pro Wrestling Noah announced that Romano (while under contract with Impact Wrestling) will be The Great Muta's opponent for the NOAH The New Year 2023 show on Jan 1, 2023. At the event, Romano defeated Muta.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2020-present)[edit]
On November 2, 2020, Romano was announced for the 8th Super J-Cup tournament which is taken place in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's LA Dojo. A few weeks later, it was announced that Romano is scheduled to face Clark Connors in the first round. On Decemeber 12, Romano made his NJPW debut defeating Connors thus advancing to the next round. Later in the night, Romano was eliminated from the tournament after he lost to A. C. H. in the semifinals.
Professional baseball career[edit]
After his final match with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in January 2014, Romano sidelined his career in wrestling to pursue a career in Major League Baseball (MLB) despite not playing baseball since sophomore year of high school. TNA issued this statement on their official website, tnawrestling.com, following his departure:
"Thomas Romano, better known to TNA fans as "Tommy Rockferd" has made a personal decision to put his pro wrestling career on hold to prepare to tryout for Major League Baseball this season. Romano has wrestled the majority of his professional career in TNA and we are proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best in his new endeavor."
Romano later told a Staten Island radio show that he had "nine wonderful years" in wrestling, but had became "burnt out" and always wanted to play professional baseball, adding that he did not want to be 40 years old and wondering if he could have "made it" in baseball. Romano had a great showing in spring training with the New York Mets, but on April 1 a minivan collided with his motorbike and he suffered a broken jaw and a pulled groin. Despite being cut during his rehab. Several MLB teams expressed interest in watching Romano work out. The New York Yankees worked out Romano on May 11, but he was hampered by the groin injury suffered in the April motorcycle accident. On June 24 it was reported that he was nearly recovered from his groin injury. He signed with the Mets on June 27 and played in several preseason games for the team. In 2014, Romano played for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Mets, batting .262 with 15 home runs, 70 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, 104 strikeouts, 51 bases on balls, and 1 error.
After the 2014 season came to a close, Romano received an invitation to play as a representative for the Mets in the Arizona Fall League, but declined due to his desire to remain living close to his family. He was released by the Mets on October 1. He had several baseball cards produced of him during his time in the Mets organization.
Mixed martial arts career[edit]
| Tommy Romano | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas Joseph Romano January 28, 1991 Staten Island, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg; 16.1 st) |
| Division | Light heavyweight |
| Reach | 73 in (185 cm) |
| Style | Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Wrestling |
| Fighting out of | Staten Island, New York, United States |
| Team | American Top Team (2015) SIBJJMMA (2016-2018, 2021) |
| Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Marcio Bittencourt Blue band in Muay Thai under Mark Fileccia |
| Years active | 2015–2018, 2021 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 9 |
| Wins | 7 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| University | College of Staten Island |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Bellator MMA (2015-2018)[edit]
Debut and Lyoto Machida feud[edit]
On his 29th birthday, Romano announced he signed a three year contract with Bellator MMA. His mixed martial arts debut was announced to be on February 13, 2015 at Bellator 133 against MMA legend Lyoto Machida. After Machida tested positive for PEDs, he was replaced by Bellator MMA newcomer Lee Chadwick. The fight with Machida was rescheduled for Bellator 137 on May 15, 2015; however, an injury forced Machida out of the bout and Romano instead faced Alessio Sakara at the event. He won the fight after knocking out Sakara with a head kick in the final second of the first round. The fight with Machida finally took place on November 6, 2015 at Bellator 145 and Romano won the fight via submission (twister) in the first round. This was the first time in the history of Bellator that a twister submission ended a bout. On August 29, 2016, it was announced that Romano would face Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion Ryan Bader on October 21, 2016 at Bellator 162. Romano lost via split decision which was his first MMA loss. His next fight was at Bellator 166 where he faced Muhammed Lawal in a highly anticipated fight in which Romano won via KO in the third round.
Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion and first retirement[edit]
Bellator officials granted Romano a rematch against Ryan Bader for the Light Heavyweight World Championship on March 3, 2017 at Bellator 174 in London. He won the fight via a flying knee 7 seconds into the first round thus becoming champion. The knockout was the fastest knockout in Bellator history, breaking the fastest knockout record. In his first title defense, Romano faced Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 186 on June 24, 2017. He won the fight via referee stoppage 37 seconds into the second round. In its December 2017 issue, ESPN's magazine published a story listing the highest paid athlete based on base salary and earnings for the most recent calendar year or most recent season in 30 sports. Romano topped the list for MMA at $5.3 million, which included his reported bout salaries and estimated pay-per-view bonuses. After the Nemkov fight, Romano began having neck problems and at some point he lost all strength in his right arm and required neck surgery. In an attempt to avoid the career threatening surgery, Romano underwent stem cell treatments and acupuncture appointments while lightly training for his next scheduled fight. Romano's next defense was against undefeated top contender Phil Davis on May 25, 2018 at the SSE Arena, Wembley in London, England at Bellator 200. He was defeated by Davis for the title by submission (rear naked choke) in the fifth round. After the fight, Romano announced his retirement from MMA, mentioning his struggles with a nagging neck injury and saying "tonight was the last time you'll see me in a pro fight".
Return to Bellator (2021)[edit]
Fight against Yoel Romero and second retirement[edit]
Speculation about a return to MMA lasted until March 24, 2020, when Romano revealed in an interview on SportsCenter that he had re-signed with Impact Wrestling and officially closed the door on a return to MMA, even though he was offered a deal "ten times more" than what he had made previously in his MMA career. He further elaborated that, while he was training for months for a return to Bellator, he felt "physically great but something was lacking mentally".
Though Romano said he was "closing the door on MMA" in March 2020, Bellator announced on October 4, 2021 that he would return at Bellator 271 on November 12. Impact Wrestling confirmed it had granted Romano "a one-off opportunity" to compete at Bellator 271 before he would return to the company for Hard to Kill on January 8, 2022. On October 31, Bellator announced the recently debuted former UFC standout, Yoel Romero to be Romano's opponent. During the fight, Romano dominated the first and third rounds, battering Romero with ground and pound in the third to secure the unanimous decision win. He also was paid a Bellator record $2.5 million purse.
On December 14, 2021, it was reported that Romano had notified Bellator he was retiring from MMA for the second time. However on March 12, 2022, Romano stormed the cage after the main event fight at Bellator 276 and challenged the reigning Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, Vadim Nemkov whom Romano has defeated in the past. On March 15, USADA confirmed that Romano had begun the process to get back into their drug-testing pool. Bellator officials were reportedly targeting a bout between Romano and Nemkov for the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship but Scott Coker claimed Romano told him he was "done" with MMA and the bout ultimately did not occur.
Mixed martial arts record[edit]
| 9 matches | 7 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 7-2 | Yoel Romero | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 271 | November 12, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 6–2 | Phil Davis | Submission (rear naked choke) | Bellator 200 | May 25, 2018 | 5 | 3:08 | London, England | Lost the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship |
| Win | 6–1 | Vadim Nemkov | TKO (referee stoppage) | Bellator NYC | June 24, 2017 | 2 | 0:36 | New York City, United States | Defended the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship |
| Win | 5–1 | Ryan Bader | KO (flying knee) | Bellator 174 | March 3, 2017 | 1 | 0:07 | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | Won the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship |
| Win | 4–1 | Muhammed Lawal | TKO (punches) | Bellator 166 | December 2, 2016 | 3 | 4:13 | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Loss | 3–1 | Ryan Bader | Decision (split) | Bellator 162 | October 21, 2016 | 5 | 5:00 | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | For the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship |
| Win | 3–0 | Lyoto Machida | Submission (kimura) | Bellator 145 | November 6, 2015 | 1 | 3:50 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Alessio Sakara | KO (head kick) | Bellator 137 | May 15, 2015 | 1 | 4:59 | Temecula, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Lee Chadwick | TKO (punches) | Bellator 134 | February 13, 2015 | 1 | 0:16 | Fresno, California, United States |
In wrestling[edit]
- Finishing moves
- Jawsplitter (Wrist-lock transitioned into a short arm forearm smash)
- Hangman's Clutch II (Arm trap inverted cravate) - used in tribute to his trainer Chris Hero
- Signature moves
- Olympic slam
- Pop up straight right hook
- Sharpshooter
- Cross-legged triangle choke
- La Ayakita (Leg hooked wrist-lock with neckscissors) - adopted from Ayako Hamada
- Judo throw
- Knee lifts to the opponent's midsection
- Sitout piledriver
- Spear
- Multiple suplex variations
- Chaos Theory (Waist lock backward roll transitioned into a bridging German)
- Overhead belly-to-belly, sometimes from the top rope
- German
- Half nelson choke
- Exploder
- Inverted
- Stalling super
- Northern lights transitioned into a Swinging vertical
- Tripleta (Back followed by a German followed by a Vertical)
- Springboard European uppercut
- Swinging reverse STO
- Powerbomb onto the ring apron
- Two punches followed by a shoot kick followed by a spinning backfist followed by a lariat
- Double leg takedown, sometimes followed by mounted punches
- Nicknames
- "Wrestling's Prophesized Savior"
- "The Sicilian Submission Machine"
- "The Richmond County Killer"
- "That New Young Knockout Kid"
- "The Master of Shaolin Strong Style"
- "Tommy fuckin' Wrestling"
- Entrance themes
- "Not A Stranger To The Danger" by Dale Oliver (May 22, 2007 - June 1, 2008)
- "Resurrected" by Jeff Hardy (June 7, 2008 - June 12, 2009, February 3, 2013)
- "Last Resort" by Papa Roach (January 12, 2011 - March 24, 2011)
- "Ready to Go" by Limp Bizkit (ft. Lil Wayne) (February 4, 2013 - January 1, 2017)
- "Blockbuster Night Part 1" by Run the Jewels (January 8, 2017 - March 23, 2022)
- "Heartless" by The Weeknd (March 23, 2022 - present)
Outside of wrestling[edit]
Romano has an eclectic set of interests outside of wrestling which includes photography, songwriting, screenwriting, book writing and creating art.
Writing career[edit]
Romano is a multi-time New York Times bestselling author, particularly known for his ongoing series of fiction dramas. His writing has generally received favorable reviews.
From January to November 2017, Romano wrote his autobiography – without the aid of a ghostwriter, as he noted in the introduction – in almost 800 pages of longhand. The book Wrestling With My Past was released on January 4, 2018 and topped The New York Times' non-fiction bestseller list for several weeks. After releasing his memoir, Romano began writing fiction dramas with the first being The War Within which was released on June 10, 2019. His next book, a romantic drama about two neighbors falling in love, Memory Lane, was released on February 14, 2020. Romano's third book, another romantic drama about two camp goers falling in and out of love, Forever Yours was released on December 5, 2020.
List of works[edit]
Memoir
- (2018) Wrestling With My Past
Fiction
- (2019) The War Within
- (2020) Forever Yours
- (2020) Memory Lane
Music career[edit]
In 2015, Romano formed a band, The Outliers, with members of the band All-4-One and his cousin Isabella, who later left. He also converted a school bus into a recording studio and taught himself how to play guitar and later purchased a piano. Their first album (marketed as a Tommy Romano solo album) Paradigm Shift was released through TNA Music on November 7, 2016. The Outliers released their second album Making A Gentleman on July 27, 2018. Their third album, Walk The Line, was released in 2021. He performs his music at venues while traveling for his wrestling career, sometimes just hours after a match. His music features rock, contemporary R&B and pop songs, tend to be autobiographical and Romano prefers performing his slower songs live.
Discography[edit]
Studio albums
- Paradigm Shift (2016)
- Making A Gentleman (2018)
- Walk the Line (2021)
Acting career[edit]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Legendary | Mike Chetley | Executive producer and writer |
| 2013 | Lone Survivor | Michael P. Murphy | |
| 2014 | Foxcatcher | Wrestler | Cameo Uncredited |
| 2015 | Spectre | Mr. Hinx | |
| 2015 | Creed | "Pretty" Ricky Conlan | |
| 2016 | Kickboxer: Vengeance | Tang Po | |
| 2020 | The Tortured Artist | Ian Oliver | Lead role Short film Also executive producer |
| 2023 | Creed III | "Pretty" Ricky Conlan |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Family Feud | Himself | 2 episodes ("TNA Special") |
| 2016 | Shooter | James Richards | Episode: "Recon by Fire" |
Personal life[edit]
Romano is a childhood friend of professional baseball player Zack Granite. He is also good friends with Valerie Loureda who is better known as WWE's Lola Vice, former New York Knicks player Myles Powell and influencer Tyler Cameron. Romano is also good friends with ECW legend Taz and as a favor for the latter, Romano helped train Taz's son Tyler to become a wrestler. He has numerous tattoos, including the words: "resilient" and "faith" on both his inner wrists, the quote: "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though, they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday.", which is a Yesterday by The Beatles lyric on his left forearm, a signature design involving multiple representations of his hometown of New York on his inner right biceps, and the Jackie Robinson quote: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." on his right collarbone. Furthermore, Romano is a self-described "lifelong die-hard" fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, while also rooting for his hometown teams: the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers and the ALPB's Staten Island FerryHawks team. Romano cites Kurt Angle, Chris Hero, Jeff Hardy and Brock Lesnar all as his inspirations in wrestling. He also regards actors Robin Williams, Paul Walker and Heath Ledger as well as Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw as his inspirations in life.
Relationships[edit]
While taking night classes at the University of California, Berkeley, Romano met at the time California star player Alex Morgan. After they met, the pair began dating from 2007 until their split shortly after college graduation in 2010 due to the fear of having a long distance relationship.
Romano was previously engaged to DJ Chantel Jeffries from 2012 until their split in 2014 due to Jeffries not supporting Romano's efforts in becoming a mixed martial artist. He also briefly dated actress Vanessa Morgan from April 2015 to December 2015. In 2007, Romano began dating actress Sophia Bush but they eventually broke up in 2011 although they still remain good friends.
In an interview in December 2017, actress Danielle Campbell stated she is currently dating Romano. In January of 2020, the couple announced their engagement during their holiday trip to the Havasu Falls. The couple married on December 1, 2020 in a private ceremony at their home in The Hamptons. In a January 2021 interview promoting her show Tell Me a Story, Campbell revealed she was pregnant and expecting a baby due in October 2021. On October 17, 2021, the couple welcomed twin girls named Elysiana Zoe and Everly Jane.
Activism[edit]
Romano endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. He has also been very vocal about his opposition to former president Donald Trump; going as far as calling him out for a boxing fight.
Romano has shown support for the LGBT community by waving a rainbow flag after a match once, wearing LGBT-themed clothing and supporting LGBT fans in performances. Despite this, Romano identifies as "1000% straight" and that he is just an "ally with a voice supporting the voiceless". In 2018, he debuted new wrestling gear with the slogan "Be Yourself" in a rainbow print for Pride Month, with profits benefiting GLSEN. That year, Romano also tweeted in support of the March for Our Lives petition, and added "Black Lives Matter" and "End Gun Violence" stickers/patches to his guitar and entrance jacket.
On June 12, 2020, episode of Impact!, Romano, then Impact World Champion, took a knee and raised a fist in the air, in homage to George Floyd, whose murder the previous month had raised worldwide protests against racial injustice; he also wore armbands not usually part of his wrestling attires, on which were written names of other individuals whose deaths were due to racial injustice: Ahmaud Arbery on his left arm, and Breonna Taylor on his right arm. The gesture was praised within the wrestling community and by media outlets, with Sports Illustrated calling it "a pivotal moment", Essentially Sports calling it "a huge statement" and Forbes stated: "With pro wrestling the only live sporting event that has remained intact throughout the pandemic, the powerful message by Tommy Romano figure to be part of a new normal once American sports are reopened as the current climate now demands more action to be taken in the still-harrowing fight against racial injustice."
Championships and accomplishments[edit]
Mixed martial arts[edit]
- Bellator Fighting Championship
- Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship (one time)
- One successful title defense
- Fastest knockout in Bellator history (vs. Ryan Bader at Bellator 174, 7 seconds)
- Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship (one time)
Professional wrestling[edit]
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Future Legend Award (2007)
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- PWG World Championship (1 time)
- Battle of Los Angeles (2012)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #3 of the 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010 and 2019
- PWI ranked him #10 of the 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2013
- PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2021
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2010)
- PWI Comeback of the Year (2018)
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/Impact Wrestling
- TNA/Impact World Championship (4 times, current)
- Impact X Division Championship (1 time)
- TNA World Tag Team Championship (4 times)- with Eric Young (1), Vordell Walker (3)
- Ninth Impact Triple Crown Champion
- Impact Year End Awards (4 times)
- Match of the Year (2018) vs. Michael Elgin and Brian Cage at Bound for Glory
- Moment of the Year (2018) – returning to professional wrestling and attacking then-X Division Champion Brian Cage
- Wrestler of the Year (2019, 2020)
- Move of the Year (2019) – Jawsplitter
- Impact Hall of Fame (2021)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Underrated (2013)
- Rookie of the Year (2007)
External links[edit]