Paul Roma

The Young Stallions (1987–1989)

Roma was teamed with fellow preliminary wrestler Jim Powers in what at first likely seemed to be a one-time pairing on March 21, 1987, at a WWF Superstars taping in Las Vegas, Nevada. Losing to Demolition (Ax and Smash), Roma & Powers also lost televised matches to The New Dream Team (Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Dino Bravo) (March 22) and "The Natural" Butch Reed, The Iron Sheik, and Nikolai Volkoff (April 23). Finally, a bit of success came at a WWF Superstars taping on April 24 when the two teamed with Tito Santana in a winning effort against Bob Orton, Don Muraco and Tiger Chung Lee. Shortly after Roma and Powers began teaming on the house show circuit, losing to Demolition and defeating fellow preliminary team The Shadows (Randy Colley & Jose Luis Rivera). Meanwhile, on television, Roma & Powers again lost to Demolition in May on WWF Superstars, followed by a loss to the Dream Team on Wrestling Challenge. According to both Roma and Powers, they were put together because of their physiques and because were fairly similar in build and overall athleticism.

The team's first significant victory came in a huge upset victory over Bob Orton and Don Muraco at Madison Square Garden on May 18. The match aired on Prime Time Wrestling later that month. Roma & Powers followed this with televised victories over The Shadows in June. Their momentum was quickly squashed when the duo teamed with Mario Mancini and Don Driggers in a squash match loss on June 20 to the newly formed Heenan Family (King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd, King Harley Race and a returning Paul Orndorff). Mr. T was reportedly planned to be their manager, but these plans never materialized.

On December 26, 1987, the Stallions were scheduled to face The Hart Foundation in Buffalo, NY. Neidhart did not appear at the event, and the match was then switched to a singles match between Powers and Bret "Hitman" Hart. That night Powers scored a substantial upset when he pinned the future WWF World Champion. Following the match, Hart complained that the loss was a fluke and volunteered to take on Paul Roma. Another match followed, and Roma also pinned Hart.

The Stallions success took a small hit at the 1988 Royal Rumble, where Roma and Powers lost a best of three falls match to The Islanders in two straight falls. Despite this Roma & Powers continued to enjoy success that winter, winning house show encounters with The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkhoff and Boris Zhukov), The Alaskans (Dave Wagner and Rick Renslow), and The Conquistadors. The latter had many matches taking place in the original Boston Garden. On March 3, 1988, nearly a year after their initial encounter Roma and Powers again faced Demolition (Ax now with Barry Darsow as Smash) on Prime Time Wrestling. This time the match was much closer, with Demolition winning. The teams would later face on a house show match in Lugano, Switzerland on April 1, with the Stallions scoring a huge upset victory.

However WWF owner Vince McMahon seemed to lose interest in the idea of pushing the team. This may have been due, in part, to the fact that Powers and Roma did not get along with each other behind the curtain. In later interviews, Roma called Powers difficult to work with. Power and Glory clashed with the Rockers at SummerSlam 1990 with Marty Jannetty being forced to wrestle the match on his own after Power and Glory (kayfabe) injured Shawn Michaels' knee before the match (this was a storyline excuse to give Michaels some time off to heal a previously suffered injury). Once Michaels returned, the feud continued, with the two teams being on opposite sides at Survivor Series, with Power and Glory once again coming out as the victors.

Power & Glory then challenged WWF Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation, but never won the gold. They also challenged The Rockers during the latter's brief run as champions (which was erased from record books when the Rockers' title win over the Hart Foundation was reversed) where they lost to The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) in under a minute. In a shoot interview, Roma admitted that the quick loss was his idea, as he was dealing with a nagging elbow injury and could barely move the arm, even wearing a large arm pad to protect it.

Roma was featured in numerous televised singles matches in the summer of 1991, including against Davey Boy Smith, Virgil, Bret Hart, and Ricky Steamboat. Power and Glory teamed up with Slick's other charge, The Warlord, for a series of 6-man tag-team matches.

Their last pay per view outing came when they teamed with The Warlord to face Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, "The Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich and Davey Boy Smith at SummerSlam 1991 in a losing effort. In one of their last recorded matches together as a team, they lost to the Legion of Doom at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Roma's final WWF match came later on that tour, when Power & Glory were defeated by The Rockers in Paris on October 9. Roma then left the Federation, while Hercules would remain with the company for a few months before departing as well.

According to Roma, Bret Hart told him that Power and Glory "were the best tag team he's ever seen".

World Championship Wrestling (1993–1995) Four Horsemen (1993)

In 1993, Paul Roma signed a contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and became part of the Four Horsemen alongside "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Ric Flair had returned from WWF in early 1993 to rejoin WCW, promising a Horsemen reunion at Slamboree. Roma and Anderson teamed up and won the WCW World Tag Team Championship from "Stunning" Steve Austin and "Lord" Steven Regal (who was substituting for an injured Brian Pillman). Roma and Anderson held on to the titles for a little over a month before losing it to The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags). After a few months as a team they targeted the then WCW World Tag Team Champions Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan. Going into Bash at the Beach 1994 Pretty Wonderful had the advantage as both champions were suffering from injuries inflicted by the challengers on previous occasions (or so the storyline went). Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan were unable to hold off Roma and Orndorff as Pretty Wonderful left the ring with the gold. After winning the titles Pretty Wonderful was immediately challenged by the Nasty Boys but the Nasty Boys were never able to take the gold from the champions. Next Pretty Wonderful were challenged by the duo of Stars and Stripes (Marcus Alexander Bagwell & The Patriot) at Fall Brawl. The champions retained but a week later the championship changed hands when Stars and Stripes got the 1-2-3. Roma continued appearing in WCW, teaming with Paul Orndorff two nights later in a losing effort against Dustin Rhodes & Johnny B Badd at a WCW Pro taping. He would lose multiple house show encounters with Alex Wright to close the month. His final match came in loss to Brian Pillman on WCW Saturday Night on March 8, 1995 (aired April 10). Roma's contract ended in March 1995 and was not renewed.

Later career (1995–1998) In late 1995, after leaving WCW he joined the Catch Wrestling Association, winning the promotion's World Middleweight Championship by defeating Franz Schumann in October, and losing it to Fit Finlay the following month. He attempted to make a WWF comeback in December 1997 alongside a student of Mr. Fuji called Alex Roma. They wrestled only one dark match, at a Monday Night Raw taping on December 30. Roma also won a singles match at the same taping, defeating Nick Barberry. No contract was ever offered to them, and Roma retired in 1998 to focus on bodybuilding and wrestling-related business ventures.

Return to Wrestling (2006–2021) In 2006, Roma resurfaced on the wrestling scene as he was named the commissioner of the now-defunct independent promotion, Connecticut Championship Wrestling. He also had a "Pretty Wonderful" reunion with Paul Orndorff in Connecticut Championship Wrestling. Roma has also been competing in the IAW (Independent Association of Wrestling) wrestling promotion. Roma won the IAW Heavyweight Championship, after beating Brian Costello (aka The Crippler), on July 8, 2006, at IAW Clash at the Cove VIII, in South Bend, IN. He eventually lost the title to The Crippler on March 24, 2007, at IAW Clash at the CAVE II Two years later, on December 11, 2021, Roma lost to Vladimir Moskayev at EWF event.

Boxing career After leaving the World Wrestling Federation in 1991, Roma turned to pro boxing, competing under Paul Roma since it was the name that he thought had the most recognition factor. He had a sum total of three professional boxing matches. In his debut match on March 6, 1992, Roma lost via TKO in the fourth round to a fighter named Jerry Arentzen, when his trainer threw in the towel. The victory was one of Arentzen's two wins in 22 matches. On April 1, 1992, he defeated Norman Fortini and then on May 5, 1992, he fought and defeated Norman Shrink, this was both Fortini's and Shrink's only professional boxing match ever. After the third fight Roma stopped boxing and returned to professional wrestling working for WCW.

Television

In the late 1980s, Roma appeared on the Australian television game show Perfect Match, a show based on the format of The Dating Game.

Current activities

Roma (alongside fellow wrestlers Mario Mancini and Dave Paradise) runs a wrestling training school in East Haven, Connecticut. Roma said in a 2013 shoot interview he regularly visits and speaks to children in St. Jude's Hospital.

Roma's nephew is IFBB professional bodybuilder Evan Centopani.

Championships and accomplishments Catch Wrestling Association CWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time) Independent Association of Wrestling IAW Heavyweight Championship (3 times) IAW Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Repo Man (1), Hercules (1), and Alex Roma (1) Paradise Alley Pro Wrestling PAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1990) Ranked No. 92 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994 World Championship Wrestling NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Arn Anderson WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Arn Anderson (1) and Paul Orndorff (2)