The Pitbulls The Pitbulls ( sometimes written as The Pit Bulls , also known earlier in their careers as The American Bulldogs ) were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of " Pitbull # 1 " Gary Wolfe and " Pitbull # 2 " Anthony Durante . They were best known for their tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling , where they were one time World Tag Team Champions . In addition to tag team success , both members each held the World Television Title as well . History . World Wrestling Federation . The Pitbulls wrestled briefly in the World Wrestling Federation , losing to the Brain Busters on June 27 , 1989 . The Pitbulls also had a match against The Hart Foundation , which they also lost . Extreme Championship Wrestling . Prior to forming The Pitbulls in Extreme Championship Wrestling , Gary Wolfe , who later became " Pitbull # 1 " , won the Television Championship on April 16 , 1994 . In 1995 , Wolfe and Anthony Durante , the latter of whom became " Pitbull # 2 " , reformed The Pitbulls in ECW . Soon after joining the company , The Pitbulls won their first and only World Tag Team Championship on September 16 , 1995 from Raven and Stevie Richards . They were soon joined by Francine , who became their manager and dubbed herself " The Beastmaster " . One month later , they lost the titles back to Raven and Richards . . In 1996 , The Pitbulls then moved into an intense feud with The Eliminators , which saw their manager Francine receive the Total Elimination on two different occasions . The feud culminiated at the first - ever CyberSlam in a three - on - three dog collar match , which saw Francine team with the Pitbulls against Stevie Richards with The Eliminators . The Pitbulls won the match after superbombing Richards and letting Francine pin Richards . However , The Eliminators hit the Total Elimination on Pitbull # 1 , Pitbull # 2 , and Francine after the match . After this , Pitbull # 2 went on to win the ECW World Television Championship on June 1 at the Fight the Power event . However , Pitbull # 2 held the belt for only 21 days before losing it to Chris Jericho at Hardcore Heaven . On July 13 , 1996 at Heat Wave , Francine turned on The Pitbulls and became the manager of Shane Douglas . The feud between Douglas and The Pitbulls culminated on April 13 , 1997 at the first ECW pay - per - view Barely Legal , where Pitbull # 2 faced Douglas for the World Television Championship in a losing effort . Independent circuit . After leaving ECW , The Pitbulls began competing on the independent circuit . Pitbull # 2 began a brief singles run , which included one time reigns as the MEWF Heavyweight Champion and the second - ever JAPW Heavyweight Champion , both of which ended via title vacation due to injuries . The team returned to the tag team division as they debuted in the National Wrestling Alliance ' s New Jersey territory , where they won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship on two occasions between 1998 and 1999 and remained the title ' s final champions upon the title ' s deactivation 2000 . In 2002 , the team went their separate ways as Pitbull # 1 began competing under his real name along with the nickname " The Pitbull " for Pro - Pain Pro Wrestling , where he was the company ' s first - ever and only two time Heavyweight Champion as well as a one time Tag Team Champion with Mike Kruel . Death of Anthony Durante . Durante died on September 25 , 2003 along with his girlfriend Dianna Hulsey due to drug overdoses . A substance believed to be the painkiller oxycodone was found in the house but it was officially announced that he overdosed on the painkiller fentanyl . He and his girlfriend were found after lying in their home dead for days , all while their two small children , a 21 - month - old boy and an 8 - month - old girl , were apparently alone in the house among the bodies . In 2005 , Wolfe appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment ' s first - ever One Night Stand event to introduce the " ECW Remembers " video , honoring the ECW alumni who had died , including his tag team partner Durante . After the death of Durante , Wolfe returned to the independent circuit and began competing for Pro Wrestling Unplugged as " The Pitbull " Gary Wolfe , where he reused The Pitbull gimmick in honor of his late friend and tag team partner .