Tony D'Angelo

Not to be confused with Tony DeAngelo.

Joseph Arriola (born June 9, 1995) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Tony D'Angelo.

Tony D'Angelo
Birth name	Joseph Arriola
Born	(1995-06-09) June 9, 1995 (age 28) Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Tony D'Angelo Joe Arriola
Billed height	6 ft (183 cm)
Billed weight	250 lb (110 kg)
Billed from	Chicago, Illinois
Trained by	WWE Performance Center
Debut	2020

Professional wrestling career

On the October 5, 2021 episode of NXT, Ariola made his WWE debut under the ring name Tony D'Angelo, with the heel gimmick of an Italian-American mobster, defeating Malik Blade in a few minutes.^[1] On December 5, at NXT WarGames, D'Angelo, Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes and Grayson Waller defeated Team Black & Gold (Johnny Gargano, LA Knight, Pete Dunne and Tommaso Ciampa) in a WarGames match.^[2]

After a series of victories against Ru Feng, Dexter Lumis and Andre Chase, D'Angelo suffered his first loss against Dunne on the December 21 episode of NXT 2.0, then brutally attacking Dunne himself with a crowbar. As a result of the feud that ensued, D'Angelo defeated Dunne in a Crowbar On a Pole match at the January 11, 2022 episode of NXT 2.0. On the January 25 episode of NXT 2.0, D'Angelo lost to Cameron Grimes due to interference from Dunne, failing to challenge him for the NXT North American Championship. On the February 15 episode of NXT Vengeance Day, D'Angelo lost to Dunne in a Weaponized Steel Cage match.^[3] On April 2, at NXT Stand & Deliver, D'Angelo pinned Tommaso Ciampa.^[4] After his victory over Ciampa, D'Angelo called himself "The Don of NXT".

On June 4, at NXT In Your House, D'Angelo and his henchmen Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and Troy "Two Dimes" Donovan defeated Legado del Fantasma and, as per the stipulation, this stable had to join the D'Angelo Family.^[5] On the June 21 episode of NXT 2.0, D'Angelo was defeated by Carmelo Hayes, missing out on an opportunity to capture the NXT North American Championship, due to Santos Escobar interfering.^[6] On the August 2 episode of NXT 2.0, D'Angelo and Lorenzo faced The Creed Brothers for the NXT Tag Team Championship but were defeated due to Escobar's interference.^[7] On the August 16 special episode NXT Heatwave, D'Angelo defeated Escobar in a Street Fight and, as per the stipulation, Legado del Fantasma had to remain linked to the D'Angelo Family, while Escobar had to leave NXT (kayfabe).^[8]

On the September 27 episode of NXT, D'Angelo faced Wes Lee to qualify for a ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Championship at NXT Halloween Havoc but was defeated via referee decision.^[9] On the December 27 episode of NXT, D'Angelo then faced Lee for the NXT North American Championship but, due to interference from Dijak, he lost the match.^[10] On January 10, 2023, D'Angelo turned face and challenged Dijak to a match at NXT: New Year's Evil, where he would lose.^[11]

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 182 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2022^[12][13]

References

1. Zak, Brad (5 October 2021). "WWE NXT results: Oct. 5, 2021".
2. Moore, John (December 5, 2021). "NXT WarGames results: Moore's live review of two WarGames matches, Roderick Strong vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner for the NXT Tag Titles, Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson in a hair vs. hair match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
3. Moore, John (February 15, 2022). "2/15 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Bron Breakker vs. Santos Escobar for the NXT Title, Carmelo Hayes vs. Cameron Grimes for the NXT North American Title, Gigi Dolan and Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta for the NXT Women's Tag Titles, MSK vs. The Creeds in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals, Pete Dunne vs. Tony D'Angelo in a weaponized cage match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
4. Moore, John (April 2, 2022). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of Dolph Ziggler vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, Mandy Rose vs. Cora Jade vs. Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray for the NXT Women's Title, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. MSK vs. The Creed Brothers for the NXT Tag Titles, the NXT North American Title ladder match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
5. Moore, John (June 4, 2022). "NXT In Your House results: Moore's live review of Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Title, Mandy Rose vs. Wendy Choo for the NXT Women's Title, Pretty Deadly vs. The Creed Brothers for the NXT Tag Titles, Cameron Grimes vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
6. Powell, Jason (June 21, 2022). "6/21 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Carmelo Hayes vs. Tony D'Angelo for the NXT North American Championship, Grayson Waller vs. Solo Sikoa, Von Wagner vs. Brooks Jensen with their allies barred from ringside, Alba Fyre vs. Lash Legend, Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp in action". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
7. Wells, Kelly (August 2, 2022). "7/12 NXT 2.0 REPORT: Wells's report on Creeds vs. D'Angelo & Stacks, Four-Way for Vacant Women's Tag Titles, Sikoa vs. Wagner in a Falls Count Anywhere match, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
8. Moore, John (August 16, 2022). "8/16 NXT 2.0 Heatwave results: Moore's review of Bron Breakker vs. JD McDonagh for the NXT Title, Mandy Rose vs. Zoey Stark for the NXT Women's Title, Carmelo Hayes vs. Giovanni Vinci for the NXT North American Title, Tony D'Angelo vs Santos Escobar in a Street Fight, Cora Jade vs. Roxanne Perez". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
9. "Full NXT Halloween Havoc 2022 results: Oct. 22, 2022". WWE. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
10. "NXT Results, November 22 2022". 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
11. Hazelwood, Bruce Lee (January 10, 2023). "1/10 NXT NEW YEAR'S EVIL REPORT: Hazelwood's live report on Breakker vs. Waller for title, #1 contender's battle royal, Pretty Deadly in the gauntlet, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
12. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2022". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
13. Ross, Patrick (September 14, 2015). "Full 2022 PWI 500 list revealed". AIPT Comics. from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2015.

External links

• Tony D'Angelo's profile at Cagematch.net  , Wrestlingdata.com  , Internet Wrestling Database