Antonio Thomas Thomas " Tom " Matera ( September 23 , 1981 ) is an American professional wrestler , better known by his ring name Antonio Thomas . He is best known for his stint with World Wrestling Entertainment on the Raw brand as one half of The Heart Throbs . Professional wrestling career . Early career ( 2001 – 2005 ) . Matera made his debut in late 2001 under the name Antonio Thomas , and quickly became a minstay on the New England independent circuit . Over the next few years , he wrestled for several promotions , including New England Championship Wrestling , Chaotic Wrestling , and the Eastern Wrestling Alliance ( EWA ) . In early 2003 , Thomas began training with Steve Bradley , and began working for Bradley ' s Wrestling Federation of America ( WFA ) promotion . There he won the WFA Heavyweight Championship , and held it throughout most of 2003 - 2004 . Thomas then began teaming with his long - time friend Romeo Roselli , who was wrestling as Johnny Heartbreaker , and the pair formed a tag team called The Heartbreakers . On January 23 , 2004 , The Heartbreakers defeated Cueball and Nick McKenna to become the EWA Tag Team Champions . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2005 – 2006 ) . In July 2004 , Thomas signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling ( OVW ) . In OVW he continued to team with Heartbreaker , but it was not until February 2005 that Heartbreaker was officially signed to a developmental contract with WWE . On April 18 , 2005 , William Regal and Tajiri successfully defended the World Tag Team Championships against the debuting Heart Throbs ( Thomas and Heartbreaker , now known simply as Antonio and Romeo respectively ) . They went on to participate in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship at the 2005 Backlash pay - per - view , although they were unsuccessful . The Heart Throbs , who have portrayed heels , mainly appeared on the " Raw " B - show , " Heat " . They had short - lived feuds with Eugene and William Regal , Rosey and The Hurricane , and V - Squared ( Val Venis and Viscera ) . During the first episode of " Heat " in 2006 the pair turned face and began entertaining the crowd by bringing two " hot chicks " into the ring and getting them to dance . On February 10 , 2006 , WWE announced that The Heart Throbs had been released from their contracts . Independent circuit ( 2006 – present ) . After his release from WWE , Thomas returned to working on the New England independent circuit . On May 27 , 2006 , Thomas debuted for MXW and pinned Jason Blade after the match was interrupted by Romeo Roselli . At InterPromotional Incident on July 8 , 2006 , Thomas and Blade defeated the team of Roselli and Xavier . On November 10 , 2006 , Thomas wrestled Claudio Castagnoli in one half of the main event at Capital Collision in Albany , NY . His most recent appearance for MXW was at Brass City Battle on November 12 , 2006 where he took on Slyk Wagner Brown . On March 11 , 2007 , Thomas and Roselli appeared at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ' s Destination X pay - per - view as Christy Hemme ' s mystery team . Renamed " The Heartbreakers " , they lost to The Voodoo Kin Mafia ( B . G . James and Kip James ) . In June 2007 , Thomas toured Italy with the Nu - Wrestling Evolution promotion . On February 22 , 2009 , Thomas competed in a dark match for Ring of Honor , teaming with Prince Jaleel in a loss to Andy Ridge and Alex Payne . In May 2009 , Thomas won the NECW Iron 8 Tournament . Japan . Thomas Has Wrestled For All Japan Pro Wrestling . Thomas and Akebono were defeated by Rene Dupree and Big Daddy Voodoo . Ryota Hama , Masayuki Kono & Shuji Kondo defeated Masakatsu Funaki , Akebono & Antonio Thomas . Other media . Matera appeared on the September 7 , 2008 edition of Sox Appeal . Personal life . Matera is a certified personal trainer , and plans to obtain a master ' s degree in Exercise Science and Strength and Conditioning . He grew up in Ludlow , Massachusetts and attended Ludlow High School .