Rico Constantino
Americo Sebastiano Costantino (born October 1, 1961) is an American police officer and retired paramedic, SWAT officer, bodyguard, professional wrestler and wrestling manager. He performed under the ring names Rico Costantino and Rico in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 1998 to 2004. Early life. Costantino was a contestant on "American Gladiators". He challenged Gemini, winning once and fighting to a draw twice in their three Joust bouts. Costantino was the champion for the first half of the 1990–1991 season. In the Grand Championship, Rico came up just short, losing to Craig Branham by 7 points (3 1/2 seconds ) in the Eliminator. Costantino next appeared on the European game show "Capture Ft. Boyard", with a win over his former Gladiator nemesis Craig Branham. On the show, he was the only competitor to capture the needed key in the bungee jump challenge on an upswing. Professional wrestling career. World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1998–2004). Costantino began to train with the Empire Wrestling Federation for a career in the wrestling business. Costantino was discovered by World Wrestling Federation (WWF) officials Terry Taylor and Dr. Tom Prichard. After only 12 matches, Costantino signed a developmental deal with the WWF. Costantino was sent to  Ohio Valley Wrestling for further training, before being sent up to work for WWF. He debuted in WWF on the March 21, 2002 episode of "SmackDown!" as the stylist of Billy and Chuck (the heel gimmicks of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo), establishing himself as a villain. Rico portrayed a homosexual stylist as his gimmick. On the May 9 episode of "SmackDown!", Rico wrestled his first match in WWE, where he teamed with Billy and Chuck to defeat Al Snow, Maven and Rikishi. At Judgment Day, Rico was forced to team with Rikishi to defeat his clients, Billy and Chuck  for the WWE Tag Team Championship. On the June 6 episode of "SmackDown!", Rico turned on Rikishi by helping Billy and Chuck in pinning Rikishi for the tag titles. On the September 12, 2002 episode of "SmackDown!", Rico moved over to the Raw brand and became the manager of 3-Minute Warning (then-heel, Rosey and Jamal). He ended up turning on 3-Minute Warning after they lost a match to the Dudley Boyz. However both he and 3-Minute Warning all remained heels during that time. After turning on 3-Minute Warning, Rico scored an upset victory over another  heel, Ric Flair. Rico would soon return to Raw in 2003 with Miss Jackie appearing as his manager. Then, on the March 22, 2004 edition of Raw, Rico got drafted to SmackDown! and became a fan favorite due to fan reaction to his over-the-top exótico style gimmick, teaming up with an initially reluctant partner, Charlie Haas, (with whom he held the WWE Tag Team Championship) and had a valet, Miss Jackie. He retained the essence of the masculinity gimmick he shared with Gunn and Palumbo while taking it to new levels, much in the vein of Adrian Street . Rico was unexpectedly released by WWE on November 7, 2004. All Japan Pro Wrestling (2005). After his release, he went to All-Japan Pro Wrestling, where he and Bull Buchanan defeated Mitsuya Nagai and Masayuki Naruse on the first event of the "Excite Series" in Tokyo, Japan to win the All Asia Tag Team Championship. Costantino retired from professional wrestling in July 2005, causing him and Buchanan to vacate the All Asia Tag Team Titles. Future Stars of Wrestling (2012). Rico came out of retirement for a Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW) TV taping in Las Vegas on November 17 , 2012 where he teamed up with Beast to defeat the team of Gregory Sharpe and Clutch. Personal life. Costantino entered Northwestern Military and Naval Academy. He graduated near the top of his class and at one point considered enrolment at West Point. While Rico attended Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Costantino returned to Las Vegas and settled into a career as a paramedic. This led to enrollment in the police academy. Costantino was also on the SWAT team at one point, paving the way for his next career as a bodyguard. In August 2005, Rico completed  his law enforcement training in Boulder City, Nevada. As of 2006, Rico was a Sergeant Inspector for the Nevada Taxi Cab Authority. Beginning in 2016, Costantino suffered health issues relating to heart problems and a series of concussions.