Steve Molinelli (May 22, 1986) is an American professional wrestler known as Sunami. He is known promarily from his work with Vendetta Pro Wrestling.
Professional wrestling career[]
Sunami begain his training with Billy Blade at the California Wrestling Alliance school in Santa Maria, CA in May 2001. Other students included Mike Menace, Kid Omega, and Kadin Anthony.
Sunami made his in-ring debut in a victory over Steve Burns in Sepetember of 2001. He would go on to have a run of matches with Kid Omega, each trading multiple victories over one another.
March 2002, Sunami was involved in a 6-Man Tag Team match with Jack Daniels & Jon Jon the Pheonomenon as his partners. Unfortunately, they were defeated by the team of Jin Hiryu, Lucky, and Brawlin' Bo Cooper. A feud would ignite in the CWA between Sunami and Brawlin' Bo Cooper over the CWA Hardcore Championship. In October 2002, Sunami finally defeated Bo Cooper and Kris Kage in a triple threat to capture his first singles title, the CWA Hardcore Championship. After the CWA was bought out in mid 2003, Sunami quietly left pro wrestling making only a few appearances throughout the years.
The Return[]
Sunami made his return to pro wrestling in 2009 working for promotions such as North American Wrestling and shows for the Knokx Pro Academy.
Vendetta Pro Wrestling[]
At Vendetta Pro's debut show on July 11, 2009, Sunami defeated Jesse Jimenez & Kid Omega in Vendetta's first ever Tri-Force Match. When Vendetta would return in Janruary of 2010, Sunami teamed with Shadow Dragon & Maverick against Jason Watts, Tank Alvarado, and old rival Brawlin' Bo Cooper. At the conclusion of the match, Bo decided to attack all of the competitors in the match with a steel chair. In February of 2010, Sunami defeated Jaysin Strife. After the match, Bo Cooper again attacked Sunami in the back with a steel chair. Later in the evening during Bo's match with Nate Rulez, Sunami's music hit, distracting Bo enough to let Nate roll up Bo for the three count. Afterwards, Bo threw a fit in the ring, unknowing that Sunami had come through the crowd with a chair in hand and hit Bo in the back. Extracting a small measure of revenge, it was set that Sunami would face Bo Cooper in Vendetta's first No-DQ, No-Countout hardcore match. Sunami got the victory after a frog splash on Bo through a table. As Sunami was making his exit, Bo called Sunami back in the ring. After what the fans thought was just another step in this feud, Bo extended his hand showing respect for Sunami. July 2010, in a scheduled match between Ballard Brothers & Rock Of Love, Billy Blade attacked his partner Kadin Anthony and threw him to the waiting Ballard Brothers in the ring. Just when it looked like there was no hope for Kadin, Sunami came out to be his partner for the night. Unfortunately, Sunami and Kadin were defeated but it was that night, SU/KA was born.
Becoming a Champion[]
As half of SU/KA, Sunami spent most of 2011 in a bitter feud with the tag-team of Greg Hernandez & Jesse Jimenez, known collectively as Dos Perfectos. The two teams battled for supremacy of Vendetta Pro Wrestling's Tag-Team division. It seemed as if Dos Perfectos had won the war, becoming the first ever Vendetta Pro Wrestling Tag-Team Champions and later the Unified Tag-Team Champions, while going on an undefeated streak lasting over a year. Kadin Anthony took some time off, and during this period, Sunami would return to the singles ranks. On December 10, 2011 at a Vendetta Pro Underground event, Sunami had supposedly defeated Shannon Ballard for the Vendetta Pro Wrestling Heavyweight title. However, without the referee noticing, Ballard's foot was placed on the bottom rope by Billy Blade. Seeing Ballard's foot on the rope, the referee immediately restarted the match, and moments later, Ballard retained the title. Video of the event surfaced, and soon, Sunami was granted a shot at the title at Reflexion 2012. Shannon Ballard attempted to get out of the match, claiming injury (it was later discovered that the injury was legitimate, but would not have kept Ballard out of action). Meanwhile, while the referee and Co-Commissioner Joseph Duncan were attempting to figure out what was going on, Sunami was assaulted from behind by Billy Blade, Sean Casey and Vega Velocity. After the damage was done, Ballard agreed to compete in the match, thinking he would have an easy victory. Ballard laid down on Sunami for an easy pin, but Sunami quickly surprised Ballard by rolling him over and getting a shockingly quick pinfall. Sunami defeated Ballard in a Vendetta Pro record 28 seconds to become the new Vendetta Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.
Sunami would successfully defend the Championship at an Underground event against "Apostle" Judah Matthew, before defending it against former Champion Shannon Ballard at Shamrock Slam. Shannon Ballard would regain the title, having his identical twin Brother Shane interfere and switch places. Shane had been out of action for nearly two years before making this surprising return. Then, after winning the title back, the Ballard Brothers were joined by the Midnight Delight as they laid down a brutal assault. Soon, Sunami's partner Kadin Anthony ran in, in an attempt to save his partner.
Sunami would trade in his return match for the Heavyweight title so that he and partner Kadin Anthony could get a shot at the Unified Tag-Team titles and their old rivals, Dos Perfectos. At Melee 2012, SU/KA ended the reign of their old rivals, becoming the new Unified Tag-Team Champions. Later in the evening, Shane and Shannon Ballard attempted the use the same switch to rob El Hijo de Rey Misterio, but SU/KA came down and distracted Shane long enough to allow Misterio to recover and see what was going on. Moments later, Misterio would take the Vendetta Pro Heavyweight title away from Shannon Ballard, ironically by pinning Shane. At Summer Sizzle 2012, SU/KA would then successfully defend their Unified Tag-Team titles against the Ballard Brothers, getting full revenge on their rivals.
Wrestling Facts[]
- Finishing Move
- F-Su (Death Valley Driver/Samoan Drop Combo)
- Signature Moves
- You Can't SU Me (Elbow Drop with Theatrics)
- SU-Bone SUplex (T-Bone Suplex)
- Wipeout (Corner Splash)
- Boardwalk Slam (Sidewalk Slam)
- SU-Line (Flying Corner Clothesline)
- Tag Moves w/ Kadin Anthony
- More Bang for your Su/Ka (F-Su/Swanton Bomb Combo)
- Rip Chord (Sidewalk/Leg Drop Combo)
- SU/KA-Line (Double Flying Corner Clothesline)
Championships and Accomplishments[]
- CWA Hardcore Championship (1 time)
