"The Arms Collector" Marcus Mancuso

Marcus is a fighter. He just LOOKS like a fighter. His 265 lb frame, while considerable, holds very little extra weight, and he is thick and muscular, yet lean for someone his size. His hair is jet black, short on the sides, and medium length and curly on the top. He also sports a sol patch and a manicured five o'clock shadow. As with most fighters, Marcus is tattooed. He sports three tattoos. One on the right arm that is 2 Ms and a star, another that is an M surrounded by tribal designs inbetween his shoulder blades, and flames rising up his left calf.

Marcus wears yellow and black MMA shorts with "Mancuso" in white across the belt line with various sponsorship patches sewn on. His hands are wrapped and protected in black leather MMA gloves and he protects his knees with simple black rubber knee pads. he wears no boots or shoes, opting instead for ankle wraps. During his entrance, he wears either a black boxing-style hooded robe with yellow trim, or various sponsorship hats and shirts from the MMA world.

Outside the ring, Marcus is very even keeled and collected. The quintessential nice guy up to the bell, once the match starts, Marcus' skill set is very brutal and very targeted. He prefers very calculated, low impact submission moves in favor of the more modern high flying, high impact moves that have dominated pro wrestling. His cool demeanor can often times be misinterpreted as disinterest or detachment. He has a deep rooted appreciation for the fans and realizes their importance in the industry, often stopping for pictures or autographs with anyone that asks. It is this dedication that has endeared him to fans in both wrestling and MMA.

Marcus comes from a wrestling family. His dad, Max, was a well respected booker of a regional independent federation through the 80's and 90's, as well as a former champion.

Marcus grew up around the industry, and seemed poised to follow in his father's footsteps. In high school, Marcus joined the wrestling team and became fast friends with a teammate that was also into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Thai kickboxing.

Marcus instantly fell in love with Mixed Martial Arts, and quickly began training to become a fighter. With his dad's financial backing, Marcus created a state of the art MMA gym in Des Moines that would attract the best fighters in the world, and Marcus was a sponge.

Despite his love and growing skill set for MMA, Marcus would still routinely appear on his dad's cards and quickly built a large, loyal fanbase. It was during this time that he came across a rehabbing Ian Tense, who was working through an injury in Marcus' dad's federation before returning to WWA TV. Marcus used the opportunity to learn from Ian's encyclopedia-like knowledge of grappling and freestyle/Greco Roman wrestling. The two worked a short series of matches together that drew impressive crowds despite the regional marketing. In fact, after retiring from professional wrestling, Ian Tense partnered up with Marcus to form The Devil's Own MMA Academy based out of Marcus' gym.

However, despite never having fought a professional MMA fight (but boasting an amateur record of 10-3), and his investment in the gym, Marcus began focusing on pro wrestling. Dubbed "The Arms Collector", Marcus' intense skillset focuses on joint manipulations of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. As a fighter, all ten of his amateur wins came from the kimura or keylock, the armbar, flying armbar, americana, the bicep slicer, or arm triangle. When added to his grappling background and kickboxing background, his arsenal is extremely formidable.

Through his various associations with high level MMA fighters and trainers, his dad's wrestling school/ promotion, and his partnership with Ian Tense, Marcus Mancuso is a perfectly tuned insturment of warfare.

Trademark: Kimura - follow the link for description, or click here for a picture

Trademark: Bicep Slicer - follow the link for description, or click here for a picture

Trademark: Omoplata - follow the link for description, or click here for a picture

Trademark: Americana - follow the link for description, or click here for a picture

All variations of the suplex (standing, belly-to-belly, German, Sambo, etc)

All generic pro wrestling moves (ie body slam, drop kick, ddt, piledriver, etc)

All Traditional Pro Wrestling submission moves (ie Sleeper, Full Nelson, Figure Four etc)

Armbar - follow link for description or click here for a picture

Flying Armbar - follow link for description, or click here for a picture.

Co-owner of The Devil's Own MMA Academy with two locations in Des Moines, IA and Nashville, TN.