Dino Bravo was one of the most well-known wrestlers in Canada during his time in the squared circle between 1970 and 1992.
However, as detailed in the latest episode of Dark Side Of The Ring, we saw how quickly a life of fame and fortune could devolve once the spotlight of professional wrestling was stripped away from somebody who had moulded his whole life around it.
Bravo had become famous and incredibly well respected in Montreal, and when Andre The Giant started working permanently for the WWF, Bravo bought his shares in the company that would be rebranded as International Wrestling. While working with other stars such as The Rougeau Brothers, and Rick Martel, Bravo used his promotion as a way to increase his own stock, becoming the most popular wrestler in Canada.
At the height of his popularity Bravo was meant to face Hulk Hogan in Montreal, in an event that could have potentially achieved a sell-out in a 40,000 seater stadium, although when WWF realised that Bravo may be cheered more than Hogan, they nixed the contest, creating some bad blood between Dino and Vince McMahon. This would only be exacerbated when WWF came calling for International Wrestling’s top stars. After realising he would never be able to provide as well for his family with his own promotion, Bravo signed for the WWF in a bumper deal that saw him grow accustomed to a lavish lifestyle.
However, although the money was good, Bravo found himself in a bad situation career-wise. Not being fluent in English, his promos didn’t connect with the crowd as much, and he was eventually repackaged as a heel with blond hair – a sight that made former students laugh at their mentor. This didn’t do wonders for Dino’s pride, and eventually, his career continued to stall, leading him to retire in 1992.
But retirement from wrestling comes hand in hand with financial insecurity. Bravo had no idea what to do and how to make money other than wrestling – a business he had been involved in since the age of 22. Now in his early 40s, he was in crisis mode. But he had made lots of connections, and one of those was an uncle through marriage – Vic Cotroni, head of the Cotroni crime family in Montreal.
Cotroni by this point had passed away, but Bravo was still connected and saw this as his way of keeping his family in their lavish lifestyle. However, less than one year after retiring from the WWF, Bravo would be found dead in his home, watching hockey.
It’s still unclear as to what triggered his murder. Some people attribute it to a missing package of contraband cigarettes worth $50,000, others to a deal that went wrong, costing the family $400,000 after police seized a shipment Bravo stored in a warehouse. Bravo had been approached by somebody involved in a Montreal cocaine ring and was offered a cut of the cocaine profits for a cut of Bravo’s cigarette shipments, as they were moving lots of money in the early 90s. Bravo agreed and left it in a warehouse, but the police had the deal under watch, and it was captured.
The case still remains open to this day, and Dino’s legacy shines through from all of the people who appeared in the episode of Dark Side Of The Ring. Dino was a well-loved individual who sadly made some poor choices and was taken from the world too soon. Hopefully, this small spotlight will bring back fond memories of Dino Bravo for all his fans.
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