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FORMER WWWF JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION JOHNNY DE FAZIO PASSES AWAY

By Mike Johnson on 2021-02-27 15:33:00

Former WWWF Junior Heavyweight Champion Johnny De Fazio passed away yesterday at the age of 80 according to Pittsburgh NBC affiliate WTAE channel 4.

De Fazio was a regular fixture on Studio Wrestling, which aired in the Steel City under the WWWF banner in the 1960s when Bruno Sammartino was the biggest name for the promotion,  He was a perennial babyface, holding the Junior Heavyweight Championship on four occasions as well as holding the WWWF International Tag Team Championship with Geto Mongol.

Beyond professional wrestling, De Fazio was deeply immersed in local politics in Pittsburgh, serving as Allegheny County Councilman from 1999 through 2019.  He also served for a time as the Union Director for Pennsylvania for the United Steelworkers of America.  In part due to his connections to the city, De Fazio rarely wrestled outside of the Pittsburgh area, but was a regular there, sometimes even teaming with Sammartino, but mostly working the undercard, where he was seen as a favorite son of the local crowd.

De Fazio last wrestled in 1984, losing to The Red Demon (Jose Luis Rivera) in you guessed it, Pittsburgh.

PWInsider.com sends our deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Johnny De Fazio.

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