Dominic DeNucci reflections
Dominic DeNucci was laid to rest Tuesday, and several wrestling personalities from the area shared their personal experiences with him throughout the week.
Who better than to start with than Ken Jugan.
Known as the legendary Lord Zoltan, Jugan performed for over 43 years and faced countless legends, including Andre the Giant.
He shared his views of DeNucci, his longtime friend.
鈥淒ominic will be greatly missed,鈥� said Jugan with a somber tone of DeNucci, who was set to receive the Cauliflower Alley Club鈥檚 Trainer鈥檚 award in September. 鈥淗e was the ultimate old school wrestler.鈥�
Jugan shared just how close the two were.
鈥淚 spent more time with Dominic than I did my own father,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were together for thousands and thousands of miles on the highways and spent many nights in hotels all over the United States and Canada.
鈥淒ominic had so much patience to stop and chat with anyone that approached him no matter what time of day it was.鈥�
Jugan feels that DeNucci鈥檚 passing has closed the door on that generation of pro wrestling history.
鈥淒ominic is the last of the dying breed in the Bruno Sammartino era,鈥� Jugan said, before discussing a bombshell that I had not heard before. 鈥淎 little-known fact is that Dominic was Vince McMahon Sr.鈥檚 first choice to be WWWF world champion before Bruno.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 make them like Dominic anymore.鈥�
Longtime KSWA ring announcer 鈥淭rapper鈥� Tom Leturgey had such a close bond with DeNucci, whose final public appearance came at the Legends of Hamburg event on July 24, that he was almost granted an amazing honor several years ago.
鈥淒ominic told me that he was going to ask me to induct him into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, New York,鈥� Leturgey said, with an emotional tone. 鈥淗owever, Bruno Sammartino insisted on doing the honors.
鈥淚 still can鈥檛 believe that someone as beloved as Dominic thought enough of me to think about it. At the funeral home, I thanked his daughter for sharing her dad with us. He was my favorite legend.鈥�
Ken Downs runs the Imagine Dojo in Altoona, and DeNucci stopped to share his knowledge with students more than once.
鈥淒ominic passing was such a blow to our group,鈥� Downs said. 鈥淗e came to our school twice and was so giving of his time and knowledge.
鈥淗is hilarious stories about Jim Barnett, Shane Douglas and others will echo in the Imagine Dojo for years to come. Personally, I will always treasure the time I got to spend with him.鈥�
For Darryl Grandy, known in Pittsburgh wrestling circles as 鈥淥ld School鈥� Burt LeGrande, having the chance to reflect on DuNucci鈥檚 impact on him was cathartic.
鈥淪eeing all of the love for Dominic this past week, I realize my interactivity with him paled in comparison to a number of my contemporaries,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut when I did interact with him, he made me feel like I was in his inner circle regardless and it was neat to have that interaction in HIS element, backstage at shows and in the locker room with the boys.
鈥淚t provided him the sanctuary where every one of those settings gave him one more chance to relive the thing he loved most, and given his fruitful learning tree, the thing he wanted others to love most as well.
鈥淚t was like hanging out with an MLB Hall of Famer in a dugout, where you鈥檙e both soaking in the same scene, but form two different perspectives along the same path.鈥�
Brian Knavish has portrayed several pro wrestling personalities over the years and got to know Dominic well.
鈥淏ecause Dominic was such an accomplished wrestler, and he was, that can almost overshadow the amazing person he was,鈥� Knavish said. 鈥淚 can honestly say that he is one of my favorite people I鈥檝e ever known.
鈥淗e was a kind, gentle man in every way and would go out of his way to check in on my family or give me a bottle of red wine.鈥�
Knavish would occasionally drive Dominic to shows.
鈥淚 had the pleasure of driving to many shows with Dominic, just the two of us, and the conversations we had on those trips are some of my most cherished moments,鈥� he said. 鈥淵es, we would talk about wrestling and his stories were fascinating.
鈥淏ut the conversations we had about other stuff, regular life stuff, were even more fascinating and funny beyond belief.
鈥淗e was such a special, interesting guy and I feel so blessed to have had the chance to know him.鈥�
Blessed, indeed. As are all of us who were lucky enough to get to know Dominic.
Email questions/comments to powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to @BillHughes_III.