Mark Madden's Hot Take: Stars like 'Jumping Johnny' DeFazio made 'Studio Wrestling' must-see TV

Pro wrestling is nationally televised nine hours per week. It’s also seen via pay-per-view, syndicated TV, Twitch, YouTube, streaming and a few even deeper crevices. It’s made for mass consumption.

The televised promotions don’t come to your local arena because of covid, but so-called “house shows” were dying out even before the pandemic. Nothing is local about today’s wrestling save the odd independent promotion. World Wrestling Entertainment’s Monday, Wednesday and Friday TV shows are the same everywhere. Same with All Elite Wrestling’s Wednesday telecast. Localized cut-ins got inserted decades ago, but no more.

The result: In America, less people watch wrestling than ever. Those people spend more money than ever, however, and TV rights fees are through the roof. WWE gets $650 million per year for its programming. Tony Khan owns AEW. His father is worth $8 billion. It’s all too big to fail.

“Jumping Johnny” DeFazio passed away Friday. The Shaler resident was 80.

DeFazio was a wrestling star from a simpler time. An era when every area had its own TV show and company.

There were once more than 30 wrestling territories operating in the U.S. and Canada. Pittsburgh’s promotion was affiliated with WWE, then called the World Wide Wrestling Federation. “Studio Wrestling” ran Saturdays at 6 p.m. on WIIC-TV (Channel 11) from 1959-74. It took place at the station’s studio in Fineview. Bill Cardille (“Chilly Billy”) was the program’s iconic host.

The top star was Bruno Sammartino, the long-time WWWF champ and one of the top draws in the history of the industry.

But DeFazio was on the next tier, a four-time WWWF Jr. Heavyweight Champion and one-time WWWF International Tag Team Champion (along with Newton Tattrie, b/k/a Geto Mongol).

DeFazio would have been a bigger star, but his life outside wrestling limited his travel. He was a union leader with the United Steelworkers of America and an Allegheny County councilman.

DeFazio was a pillar of the community, not just a guy who could make and take a hot tag.

“Studio Wrestling” was our wrestling. Bigger stars came and went, though Ross Township native Sammartino was a constant. DeFazio, Dominic DeNucci, Baron Mikel Scicluna, Bobby “Hurricane” Hunt and Frank Holtz, “the fighting cop from Carnegie,” were among the regulars. North Allegheny grad Larry Zbyszko (nee Whistler) got trained by Sammartino before opposing him in a big-money feud that drew 36,295 to New York’s Shea Stadium.

You might see DeFazio at the corner store Tuesday, then on Channel 11 Saturday.

Now, that local connection just isn’t there. Wrestling is run by, for and on the internet. It’s as far removed from Fineview as can possibly be.

It’s bigger in terms of scope. It’s smaller in terms of audience. A lot more Pittsburgh residents watched “Studio Wrestling” on Saturdays than watch “WWE Raw” on Mondays.

Is wrestling better now? Not to me. It was better when we knew it was scripted, but that wasn’t rubbed in our faces. When the improbabilities weren’t overwhelming.

When it was local.

“Jumping Johnny” DeFazio, RIP. His kind of wrestling passed away long before he did.