WWE introduces new Italian mobster character Tony D'Angelo

I'm not sure if this is pure coincidence or whether someone at WWE has been paying attention to hockey news over the last year. Either way, the wrestling promotion has introduced a new wrestler coming to NXT, WWE's developmental promotion (think of it as the WWE's AHL), who carries a distinct Italian mobster gimmick and goes by the name of Tony D'Angelo.

The spelling of the last name is slightly different than controversial Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Tony DeAngelo, but several Twitter users noticed the similarities immediately.

D'Angelo the wrestler is actually Joe Ariola, who grew up near Chicago, where his D'Angelo character claims to be from.

"See, I was born and raised in the streets of Chicago, and I come from a long line of businessmen," said D'Angelo in a new vignette for NXT. "See my family has interests in waste management, the fish market, the meat market, you name it. But I found success in my own way – amateur wrestling at the University of Buffalo. I was even named All-American for the Greco-Roman style. But my family, they smartened me up. Because, let's face it, there's no real money to be made in amatuer wrestling. But you know where the real money is? NXT."

While D'Angelo and DeAngelo are both Italian, the hockey player was born and raised in Sewell, New Jersey rather than the "streets of Chicago." Both areas would have large Italian-American populations. Tony, in both cases, would be the shortened version of the common first name Anthony, with origins tracing back to Rome.

It's difficult to tell for sure whether the Canes Tony DeAngelo served as any inspiration for this character, even if just in name only, but it's a safe bet the association will stick for as long as the new wrestling gimmick is around.

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