Professional wrestling has been a fixture in his life since day one. Wrestling and blood flowed through his veins. Chris Candido was destined to make an impact in this sport, but not without some bumps along the road. Candido's grandfather was professional wrestler Chuck "Popeye" Richards. Because of this, Candido has been competing in this sport since 1986 when he made his debut at the ripe old age of 15, thanks to his relationship with his grandfather and the training by "Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe.

It was during his high school years when he met his longtime sweetheart, Tammy Lynn Sytch. She was a cheerleader for a rival school when they met each other, and they have been together ever since. While they were attending high school, Tammy would often accompany Chris on his travels to independent shows.

Candido toiled around the indy scene for a number of years, just gaining experience and maturing at the same time. The first promotion he could call home was World Wrestling Association (WWA), which was owned and operated by Larry Sharpe. He had a pretty successful run in WWA, winning one of his first titles on June 3, 1990 in Clifton, NJ by defeating Johnny Hot Body for the WWA Junior Heavyweight Title. He would get a second reign of the title almost two years later, regaining it from Chris Evans on March 6, 1992. Exactly one year later, on March 6, 1993, Candido would team with Evans to win the WWA Tag Team Titles from the Lords of Darkness.

Smokey Mountain Wrestling (SMW) was one of the more prominent indy feds in the country. It was run by Jim Cornette and ran shows in, well, the Smokey Mountain region of the United States. It helped launch the careers of such athletes as D'Lo Brown, The Gangstas, Al Snow, Kane, Balls Mahoney, and of course Candido & Sytch. Candido entered SMW in April 1993, and had the WWA Title and claimed to be the real world champion a la Ric Flair.

Candido also began to work some shows for Eastern Championship Wrestling, which would later become Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). When Candido began to work shows for Eastern, they weren't big at all. They were the typical indy fed in Philadelphia. Candido is one of the few current stars that can say he competed in the first ECW Arena show. Candido was teaming with Johnny Hot Body when he first won the ECW Tag Team titles on April 3, 1993, when the duo defeated Tony Stetson & Larry Winters. Right after this, Chris Michaels was introduced into this tag team, and they would do their impression of The Fabulous Freebirds and alternate partners. It wasn't a good idea as Michaels & Hot Body lost the ECW Tag Team Titles on May 15, 1993 to The Super Destroyers. Michaels & Hot Body would regain it later that night.

Candido split his time between SMW and ECW. Because of this, ECW decided to strip Candido/Michaels/Hot Body of the ECW Tag Team Titles due to Candido not showing up to ECW shows in July 1993. Candido wanted to focus on SMW, which was bigger at the time and had formed a relationship with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). This would be Candido's best chance of landing a contract in WWE.

In October 1993, Candido was caught up in a rivalry with the SMW United States Junior Heavyweight champion, Bobby Blaze and the two would trade the title with each other on numerous occasions. On October 4, Candido beat Blaze in Jellico, TN to win the title. On October 8, Blaze regained it in Knoxville, TN. Candido regained the belt the next night in Barbourville, KY. The night after, he lost the title back to Blaze in Johnson City, TN. Blaze would hold the title for another month before dropping it back to Candido on November 13 in Morristown, TN. The title is abandoned sometime after this. Candido & Blaze would go down in SMW history as the only two men to hold that title.

Before 1993 came to close, Candido had his sights set on bigger gold. On December 6, he beat future ECW Tag Team champ Tracey Smothers in Jefferson, NC to win the SMW Television Title. He held on to the title for a little over a month when he lost the title on January 10, 1994 to Robbie Eagle, also known as The Stro, in Chilhowie, VA.

During his early tenure in SMW, Candido was not paired with Tammy Sytch, who was known as Tammy Fytch in SMW. She entered SMW working an angle of trying to be a manager but being shut out because she was a woman. She threatens to sue the company, but they allowed her in and she had her sights set on managing the SMW champion "Prime Time" Brian Lee. Lee was a face, but later turned heel and joined up with Fytch.

Fytch eventually began to manage Candido when she paired him up in a tag team with Lee. On April 23, 1994, the duo upended the legendary Rock & Roll Express to win the SMW Tag Team Titles in Johnson City, TN. They proved to be a dominant tag team that would hold on to the titles for several months. At the same time they were teaming with each other, they still continued to dominate the singles division. Candido regained the SMW TV Title from Smothers on July 5, 1994 in Warrensville, NC. He would end up losing the title to future tag team partner Lance Storm.

Much like his rivalry with Blaze, Candido & Lee would trade the tag titles with the Rock & Roll Express several times in a short amount of time. On August 5, 1994, Candido & Lee lost the titles to the Express in Knoxville, TN at The City Coliseum. The following night, the beat the Express in Johnson City, TN to regain the belts. On August 8, the lost the titles for a final time to the Express in Saltville, VA.

Candido's stock rose on the indy scene. He was a multiple time champion in SMW and was teaming with SMW champion Brian Lee, who was just coming off his stint as Ted DiBiase's Undertaker in WWE, so Candido was making waves. In one of the biggest nights of his career, he defeated Al Snow, "The Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony and Tracey Smothers in one night to win the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Title in Cherry Hill, NJ on November 19, 1994. The title had been vacant when Shane Douglas threw down the NWA Title, and Eastern Championship Wrestling was taken to the Extreme.

1995 was supposed to be another peak in the young career of Chris Candido. He had finally landed a contract with WWE and was set to debut as Skip, with Sytch known as Sunny, and they were The Bodydonnas. Their characters were fitness gurus and would harass fans early on about being out of shape. Before making his debut, Candido needed to fulfill his indy obligations. He dropped the NWA Title to Dan "The Beast" Severn, who was making waves in Ultimate Fighting, in Erlanger, KY on February 24, 1995.

Skip made his WWE debut in vignettes introducing The Bodydonnas, which appropriately took place in a gym. Early on in his WWE career, Skip won several squash matches over Scott Taylor aka Scotty 2 Hotty, Aldo Montoya aka Justin Credible and even Barry Horowitz. Yes, early on, he got victories over Horowitz.

WWE began to see more in Horowitz than they saw in Skip. Horowitz was decent in the ring. As a jobber, you have to be because their job is to make the star look good. In the summer of 1995, Skip was showboating in the ring doing push-ups when perennial loser Horowitz rolled him up in a 3/4 Nelson and got the upset victory. The fans knew of Horowitz's history and popped big like he won the WWE Title. Jim Ross started his 3-time repetition of importance when he proclaimed, "Horowitz win! Horowitz wins! Horowitz wins!"

Skip was pissed. He campaigned for a rematch against Horowitz. Skip got a match against then WWE Intercontinental champion "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels during a taping of WWE Superstars. Skip jobbed when Horowitz distracted him. Michaels tried to get Sunny, but dissed her when she puckered up for a kiss.

Skip finally got his chance to gain revenge on Horowitz at the 1995 SummerSlam on August 27 in Pittsburgh, PA. Earlier that morning, on WWE Action Zone, Hakushi jobbed to Horowitz when Skip's interference backfired. Skip once again did the job on his PPV debut when Hakushi distracted Skip, thus turning Hakushi into a face.

Skip's career continued to dwindle in WWE. Rumors on the Internet stated that Skip & Sunny were going to be released by the end of 1995. Skip was allowed to wrestle indy shows when his schedule permit. He entered Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling (PCW) and beat "Surfer" Ray Odyssey to win the PCW US Title in Reading, PA on December 1, 1995. 1996 saw new life pumped into Skip's WWE career, so he was forced to vacate the PCW US title on March 29, 1996.

Dr. Tom Pritchard, who had been teaming with "The Gigilo" Jimmy Del Ray as The Heavenly Bodies, had stayed full time in WWE. He was then repackaged as Zip, Skip's new tag team partner. They were collectively known as The Bodydonnas, managed by Sunny. Zip was to look exactly as Skip, down to the short platinum blonde hair and tights.

Due to the weak tag team scene at the time, The Bodydonnas were immediate contenders for the tag team titles. At the 1996 Royal Rumble on January 21, the WWE Tag Team champs Smoking Gunns retained their titles by beating the Bodydonnas. Soon after, Billy Gunn suffered a neck injury and the team was forced to vacate the titles.

A tournament was started on February 20, 1996 and would end at WrestleMania XII on March 31, 1996. The Bodydonnas defeated The Bushwhackers and Razor Ramon & Savio Vega to advance to WrestleMania XII to face The Godwinns. Unfortunately, due to the Iron Man main event between Shawn Michaels and Bret "The Hitman" Hart, the match bumped to the Free For All show, which took place on free TV a half hour before the PPV. The Bodydonnas won the title when Sunny lifted her skirt to show her backside to Phinneas Godwinn.

The two teams continued to feud over the titles. On May 19, 1996, The Bodydonnas dropped the titles to The Godwinns at a house show at Madison Square Garden. The Godwinns dropped the titles seven days later to The Smoking Gunns. By this time, Sunny had left the Bodydonnas to manage The Godwinns, because they had gold. Then she left The Godwinns for The Gunns, because they had gold. Get it? She dug the gold.

On the May 27, 1996 Raw, The Gunns retained the belts by beating The Bodydonnas. The Donnas were now faces because of Sunny jumping with the heel Gunns. To counter Sunny, The Donnas held an "open" casting call to find a new manager that was hotter than Sunny. At the 1996 King of the Ring on June 23, The Bodydonnas were set to debut their new find on the Free For All. They introduced Kloudi, who was a transvestite and indy manager Jimmy Shoulders. Kloudi made out with Leif Cassidy aka Al Snow, grossing him out and causing him to job as The Donnas beat The New Rockers.

This set the stage for a match between the Donnas and The Gunns. In a non-title match at In Your House on July 21, 1996, the Donnas beat The Gunns. Sunny was pissed and still tried to get revenge on her former charge, Skip. By this time, Ron Simmons had debuted as Faarooq Asaad and was Sunny's love interest. On an episode of Raw in August 1996, he squashed Skip.

Just before the 1996 SummerSlam, Skip suffered a neck injury at another Madison Square Garden house show. He was scheduled to work the PPV and some feared he couldn't work. He did, in a limited capacity. It was even acknowledged that he was hurt at a house show and worked his match with a neck brace on. In a 4 Way Match, The Smoking Gunns retained the tag titles over The Godwinns, The Rockers and The Bodydonnas.

Skip didn't take much time off. He worked through the injury. He was even involved in a match during the initial ECW invasion. During the Bodydonnas match against Owen Hart & The British Bulldog on a live Raw on September 23, 1996, Taz paraded around ringside with a sign that said "Sabu Fears Taz."

WWE felt that the Skip character ran it's course, and soon let Candido go. Candido made his return to ECW on October 26, 1996 at High Incident at the ECW Arena. He defeated Spike Dudley and worked the match as a face. At the annual November to Remember on November 16, he defeated Mikey Whipwreck. Candido shook Mikey's hand, and the two would start teaming with each other soon after. But, Candido would eventual turn heel on Mikey.

During his tenure in ECW, Candido was without Sunny. She was THE WWE sex symbol. While Candido was in ECW, she was the most downloaded woman on AOL. Her backstage antics would later play a role in her release from the company.

In early 1997, Shane Douglas reformed The Triple Threat, this time with Candido and Brian Lee. Candido & Lee joined Douglas in his feud with The Pit Bulls. On February 1, 1997, Tommy Dreamer teamed with The Pit Bulls to defeat The Triple Threat at Crossing The Line Again at the ECW Arena.

On February 27, 1997, Candido main evented his first singles match at the ECW Arena. He jobbed to Sabu at Cyber Slam. This didn't matter as ECW was gearing up for the company's first PPV, which Candido was scheduled to compete on.

April 13, 1997 was the night ECW would hold Barely Legal, their first foray into PPV. Candido was set to face newcomer Lance Storm. However, Candido suffered a shoulder injury just before the PPV. He was at the show, to announce his replacement, which was Rob Van Dam. RVD won, then turned heel as the night went on because he felt he should have been on the show and not as a replacement. Candido started a feud with RVD because RVD pinched the ass of Sunny during an ECW TV show. Sunny was still in WWE, but traveled when she could with Candido to ECW shows. She became a part of this one, but ECW needed to "clear" it with WWE.

Candido received his first shot at the ECW Title on June 6, 1997 at WrestlePalooza. The entire show was a success and they would not see such a big show for quite some time. On this show, Candido substituted for the injured Stevie Richards and jobbed to ECW champion Terry Funk.

ECW continued their working relationship with WWE. Sunny crossed over to ECW on one show, Rob Van Dam & Sabu began to appear on Raw. Jerry Lawler & Jim Cornette made appearances in ECW. And on June 28, 1997, Tom Pritchard came out of retirement to face his former partner at Orgy of Violence at the ECW Arena. Pritchard did the job and the two shook hands after the match. Candido also put over Pritchard big time on the microphone.

Candido returned to WWE for just one night in the summer of 1997. During an episode of Raw, he represented ECW in a match against "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher, who was representing the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) in this inter-promotional match that ended in a no-contest.

Also that summer, in ECW, Candido found himself challenging for Taz's ECW TV Title. This led to a match for the title at the second ECW PPV, Hardcore Heaven. On August 17, 1997 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the War Memorial Auditorium, Taz made Candido tap out to the Tazmission.

During the fall of 1997, Candido was teaming with Lance Storm. The duo took on ECW Tag champs Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon and Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney in a 3 Way Dance at Better Than Ever at The ECW Arena. Candido & Storm upset the teams to win the tag team titles, ending Furnas & LaFon's 24-hour title reign.

Throughout the reign, Candido & Storm constantly bickered with each other. Paul Heyman releases a statement on TV that, stating that as long as they are the champs, they will defend the titles. If they purposely cost themselves the titles, they will be fired, because Heyman says they are the best team in wrestling at the moment. He says he wants to give the fans their money's worth.

Candido & Storm continued to fight amongst themselves, even setting up singles matches between the two to take out their frustrations. They had a tag team match at Living Dangerously on March 1, 1998 in Asbury Park, NJ. Candido chose ECW champion Shane Douglas as his partner, and Lance Storm chose...Sunny. Of course, she turned on Storm minutes into the match. Al Snow turned out to be Storm's real partner and he pinned Douglas.

Candido & Storm finally lost the titles to Sabu & RVD on June 27, 1998 in Philadelphia. Despite losing the titles, they still irritated each other and the rivalry continued. On August 2, 1998 at Heat Wave, which was considered by many to be ECW's best PPV in quite some time, Candido defeated Storm when Tammy Lynn Sytch made her official debut, fresh off her release from WWE.

The feud went to another level when ECW hired indy valet Dawn Marie to work in ECW as Lance Storm's personal Bytch. They had several mixed tag matches, and the feud soon came to an end.

Candido was dwindling in ECW at this time, with not much to do. Guilty As Charged was held on January 10, 1999 in Kissimmee, FL at Millennium Theater. The main event saw Shane Douglas defend the ECW Title against Taz. Douglas lost the match, thanks to Candido turning on Douglas. Candido returned to the ECW Arena six days later to challenge the new champ Taz. The match went to a no contest when Douglas attacked Candido.

Candido & Sytch left ECW shortly there after due to personal problems. Internet fans began to gossip as to why they left. ECW Cyber Slam was held at the ECW Arena on April 3, 1999. Ironically enough, they returned on this show. It was the Internet that speculated big time on their whereabouts. They returned as Steve Corino's mystery opponent for ECW champ Taz. Candido tapped out again.

Candido & Sytch appeared to be ready to stay in ECW full time. Candido was slated to face Taz in the main event of the May 16, 1999 Hardcore Heaven PPV. However, plans changed. Instead, Candido jobbed to Taz in 70 seconds in the opening match of the PPV. Bubba Ray Dudley replaced Candido in the main event.

Candido & Sytch were on another hiatus from ECW. But they continued to compete on the indy scene. On July 22, 1999, Candido defeated Independent Superstars of Professional Wrestling (ISPW) champ Ace Darling and 2 Cold Scorpio in Wildwood, NJ to win the title. He lost the title back to Darling on August 5 in Wildwood, NJ.

ECW gained a TV deal with The Nashville Network (TNN). Candido & Sytch returned shortly after the debut episode. Tammy Sytch went on ECW on TNN to do a pseudo-shoot interview with Paul Heyman about the personal demons Sytch & Candido were fighting. This interview was to set up a big push for the couple. It wasn't meant to be. Heyman had enough of them. Candido jobbed to Nova at te ECW Arena on October 23, 1999. It would be his final night in the company.

Candido & Sytch wound up in ECW's copycat competitor, Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), which was based in California and owned by porn mogul Rob Black. They made their debut on January 29, 2000. On February 26, 2000, Candido defeated XPW champ "The Real Deal" Damien Steele to win the title in Hollywood, CA at The Palace. During his short stay in XPW, he rekindled his feud with Shane Douglas.

Shortly after winning the XPW title, Candido signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and was joined by Sytch a short time later. On April 26, 2000 at Spring Stampede, Candido beat The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea, Juventud Guerrera, Shannon Moore, Lash LeRoux, and Crowbar to win the vacant Cruiserweight Title. Due to him signing with WCW, XPW stripped Candido of the XPW Title on April 29, 2000.

In his only title defense on PPV, Candido faced The Artist at Slamboree on May 7, 2000 in Kansas City, MO. Sytch made her debut, to combat The Artist's valet, Paisley. Candido was successful and finished his WCW tenure on PPV undefeated.

On the May 15, 2000 Nitro, Candido teamed with Sytch to face Crowbar & Daffney. The Cruiserweight Title was on the line in this tag match. Daffney ended up pinning Sytch and winning the title. Daffney left Biloxi, MI as the new WCW Cruiserweight Champion. Candido & Sytch, amid Internet speculation, were released from their WCW contracts.

It was back to the indy scene for the once golden couple. Candido competed in Ricky O's Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW). On September 7, 2001, Candido defeated Don Montoya in South River, NJ to capture the JCW TV Title. He held onto the title for quite some time until he lost it on March 9, 2002 to Simon Diamond in South River, NJ.

Candido looked to have resurgence in 2002. He even got the chance to tour Japan with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). He continued to compete on indy shows as well. He competed on the USA Pro show in Deer Park, NY on August 17, 2002. However, what happened backstage is what made headlines on the Internet. Low Ki had a confrontation with Sytch backstage because Low Ki had been sitting in Sytch's chair. As they argued, Candido tried his best to calm the both of them down. Low Ki told Candido he respected him, but she needs an attitude adjustment.

Two days later, USA Pro held another show called the Invasion of North Shore Day Camp. On that show, Candido won the USA Pro US Title by defeating The Amazing Red. He held the title until October 19, 2002 when he dropped the title to The Sandman at Halloween Heat 2. Candido also received the chance to work a show for Major League Wrestling (MLW). MLW ran a show on September 26, 2992 at The Manhattan Center, which was the site of the first Monday Night Raw shows. At MLW Reload, Candido jobbed to Terry Funk.

Towards the end of 2002, Candido made his return to XPW. On October 5, Candido challenged and was defeated by XPW champion, Shane Douglas. Candido received another shot to regain the title he never lost on November 16, 2002 when he and Vic Grimes challenged Shane Douglas in a Triple Threat Match. Douglas once again came out the winner. It's good to be the booker.

On Valentine's Day 2003, Candido formed a brief team with Chris Chetti and they challenged XPW Tag champs Youthenazia, and jobbed to them. In one of his final appearances in XPW, he faced off against Justice Pain on March 8, 2003. Pain got the win when Sytch turned on Candido. Something new and different.

By this time, Candido & Sytch packed their bags and relocated to Puerto Rico. They were tired of the indy scene in the United States and all the garbage that was being talked about them. He began to work for World Wrestling Concil (WWC). On June 7, 2003, Candido defeated Fidel Sierra in Cayey, Puerto Rico for the WWC TV Title. He would hold on to the title until July 19, 2003 when he dropped it to Vengador Boricua in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

In the fall of 2003, Candido & Sytch were making their way back to the United States to compete in indy feds yet again. USA Pro held the final wrestling show in the Elks Lodge in Queens, NY on November 29, 2003. Frank Goodman was looking to go out with a bang. On that night, Shane Douglas debuted and reunited the Triple Threat with Candido & Bam Bam Bigelow. Candido & Bigelow defeated Simon Diamond & Matt Striker.

Candido toiled around the northeast indy companies, such as JCW and Stars & Stripes Championship Wrestling (SSCW). He even had an embarrassing match against SSCW champion Damien Adams back in January of this year. Some main event, it only lasted a few minutes.

USA Pro became Candido's home indy fed. On February 14, 2004, He faced Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten in a Triple Threat Match that saw Balls win. Candido was looking better than he has looked in quite some time. He was hoping it would all payoff for him.

On June 8, 2004, WWE Smackdown was being taped at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. Candido was backstage, looking to get another opportunity in the big time. It was rumored he was going to get a dark match against Carly Colon, but Funaki ended up getting the match against Colon, not Candido.

On June 19, 2004, Chris Candido had several different opponents lined up for the next big USA Pro show. At first, he was set to face off against former East Coast Wrestling Alliance (ECWA) champion Mike "The Shooter" Kruel. Then, it was changed to Candido vs. Jay Lethal. That was changed again as Candido now faced the USA Pro US champion, Mike "M-Tizzle" Tobin. Candido shocked the crowd and regained the US Title. The match was comical at times as Sytch handed Candido his old Bodydonnas tights, and then a pair of Taz's tights. Tobin handed Candido the title and the two shook hands. Candido got on the mic and proclaimed that he was back.

Candido has had some good matches lately, not just in USA Pro, but JCW and United Wrestling Alliance (UWA) in New Jersey. Candido is showing his humorous side during his matches, but also has his working boots on. If Candido stays healthy, he will make a big impact in 2004. Even though he is an 18-year veteran, he is still young to show that he still has what it takes to put on good matches with some of today's breaking young stars. If you get the opportunity to catch Candido in action, I suggest you do. Whenever Candido is around, there is never a boring moment.

John Gjoni
johnftw7533@aol.com

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