Thomas "Tom" Matera (September 23, 1981) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Antonio Thomas. He is best known for his stint with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the Raw brand as one half of The Heart Throbs.
Professional wrestling career[]
Early career (2001–2005)[]
Matera made his debut in late 2001 under the name Antonio Thomas, and quickly became a mainstay on the New England independent circuit. Over the next few years, he wrestled for several promotions, including New England Championship Wrestling, Chaotic Wrestling, and the Eastern Wrestling Alliance (EWA).
In early 2003, Thomas began training with Steve Bradley, and began working for Bradley's Wrestling Federation of America (WFA) promotion. There he won the WFA Heavyweight Championship, and held it throughout most of 2003-2004.
Thomas then began teaming with his long-time friend Romeo Roselli, who was wrestling as Johnny Heartbreaker, and the pair formed a tag team called The Heartbreakers. On January 23, 2004, The Heartbreakers defeated Cueball and Nick McKenna to become the EWA Tag Team Champions.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2005–2006)[]
In July 2004, Thomas signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). In OVW he continued to team with Heartbreaker, but it was not until February 2005 that Heartbreaker was officially signed to a developmental contract with WWE.
On April 18, 2005, William Regal and Tajiri successfully defended the World Tag Team Championships against the debuting Heart Throbs (Thomas and Heartbreaker, now known simply as Antonio and Romeo respectively). They went on to participate in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship at the 2005 Backlash pay-per-view, although they were unsuccessful.
The Heart Throbs, who have portrayed heels, mainly appeared on the Raw B-show, Heat. They had short-lived feuds with Eugene and William Regal, Rosey and The Hurricane, and V-Squared (Val Venis and Viscera).
During the first episode of Heat in 2006 the pair turned face and began entertaining the crowd by bringing two "hot chicks" into the ring and getting them to dance.
On February 10, 2006, WWE announced that The Heart Throbs had been released from their contracts.
Independent circuit (2006–present)[]
After his release from WWE, Thomas returned to working on the New England independent circuit.
On May 27, 2006, Thomas debuted for MXW and pinned Jason Blade after the match was interrupted by Romeo Roselli. At InterPromotional Incident on July 8, 2006, Thomas and Blade defeated the team of Roselli and Xavier. On November 10, 2006, Thomas wrestled Claudio Castagnoli in one half of the main event at Capital Collision in Albany, NY. His most recent appearance for MXW was at Brass City Battle on November 12, 2006 where he took on Slyk Wagner Brown.
On March 11, 2007, Thomas and Roselli appeared at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Destination X pay-per-view as Christy Hemme's mystery team. Renamed "The Heartbreakers", they lost to The Voodoo Kin Mafia (B.G. James and Kip James). In June 2007, Thomas toured Italy with the Nu-Wrestling Evolution promotion.
On February 22, 2009, Thomas competed in a dark match for Ring of Honor, teaming with Prince Jaleel in a loss to Andy Ridge and Alex Payne. In May 2009, Thomas won the NECW Iron 8 Tournament.
Japan[]
Thomas Has Wrestled For All Japan Pro Wrestling. Thomas and Akebono were defeated by Rene Dupree and Big Daddy Voodoo. Ryota Hama, Masayuki Kono & Shuji Kondo defeated Masakatsu Funaki, Akebono & Antonio Thomas.
Other media[]
Matera appeared on the September 7, 2008 edition of Sox Appeal.
Personal life[]
Matera is a certified personal trainer, and plans to obtain a master's degree in Exercise Science and Strength and Conditioning. He grew up in Ludlow, Massachusetts and attended Ludlow High School.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Nicknames
- "The Promise"
- Tag teams and stables
- Blowout Boys with Danny E
- The Equalizers with Aaron Morrison
- The Heart Throbs/Heartbreakers with Romeo Roselli
- Rising with Kenn Phoenix
- Wrestlers Trained
- Dave Blasco
- Valkyrie
- Adrian Vine
- Johnny Torres
- Perry Von Vicious
- Danny Miles
- Billy King
- Ryan Bisbal
- Frankie Arion
- Justin Tunis
- Brad Hollister
- Isaiah Rex
- Sean Burke
Championships and accomplishments[]
- CW Tag Team Championship (with Danny E) (1 time)
- EWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- EWA New England Championship (1 time)
- EWA Tag Team Championship with Johnny Heartbreaker (1 time)
- Liberty States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- CSWF Tag Team Championship with Aaron Morrison (1 time)
- NECW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NECW Tag Team Championship with Chad Storm (1 time)
- Wrestling Federation Of America
- WFA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #311 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006
- PWI ranked him #358 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007
- PWI ranked him #398 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2008
- PWI ranked him #387 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009
- Wrestling Federation of America
- WFA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
