Anthony Durante will always be remembered as Pitbull #2. As one-half of the Pitbulls, Durante teamed with Gary Wolfe (Pitbull #1, naturally) to form one of the most memorable tag teams in Extreme Championship Wrestling. Prior to their arrival in ECW, the Pitbulls made a couple of appearances in WWE, used as enhancement talents for the Hart Foundation and the Brain Busters.
In ECW, the Pitbulls are perhaps most fondly remembered for their intense feud with the Eliminators. With Francine as their valet, the duo battled Saturn & Kronus for months, eventually culminating in a 3-way dog collar match between the two teams and Raven & Stevie Richards. The Pitbulls were victorious, superbombing the Richards through a table and allowing Francine to score the pinfall. Unfortunately for the Pitbulls, all three members of the team received the Total Elimination after the closing bell. The Pitbulls also enjoyed one ECW Tag Team Title reign, winning the belts from Raven & Stevie Richards and eventually losing them back to the same team.
Durante also has a Television Title reign to his credit, winning the belt from Shane Douglas before losing it three weeks later to Chris Jericho. Later, when Douglas broke Gary Wolfe’s neck, Durante engaged in a long feud with the Franchise. The result was Francine turning on the Pitbulls, causing Durante to lose, and becoming Douglas’ head cheerleader. Outside of ECW, Durante was the second ever Jersey All Pro Wrestling World Champion but eventually had to vacate the title due to injury.
Durante and his girlfriend were found dead in September 2003 of an apparent drug overdose. The couple had been deceased for days before they were found in their home, and were survived by two children, a 21-month-old boy and an 8-month-old girl. At WWE’s One Night Stand event in 2005, Gary Wolfe paid tribute to his former Pitbull partner.
