Who Is The Debuting NXT Star Tony D’Angelo?

If you were wondering about the identity of Tony D’Angelo, now we know.

Fans who tuned in to the debut of NXT 2.0 witnessed a promo video featuring D’Angelo. He was one of the many debuting talents featured on the show. D’Angelo had the following to say in the promo.

“You see, I was born and raised in the streets of Chicago. And I come from a long line of businessmen. See my family has interests in waste management, the fish market, the meat market, you name it. But I found success in my own way – amateur wrestling at the University of Buffalo. I was even named All-American for the Greco-Roman style. My family, they smartened me up because let’s face it, there’s no real money to be made in amateur wrestling, but you know where the real money is? NXT.”

As it turns out, D’Angelo is Joe Ariola, a former NCAA wrestler. Ariola attended the University of Buffalo. In his freshman year, he had an overall record of 5-3. In his 2014-2015 season, he went 14-11. Then in the 2015-2016 season, he had a record of 14-17.

D’Angelo’s debut was on the same night that Bron Breakker (Bronson Rechsteiner) and Brooks Jensen (Ben Buchanan) also made their way to the NXT brand. There was also a slew of other fresh talent for the first NXT 2.0 episode.