World Championship Wrestling (1998–2001) Training and undercard (1998–1999) Palumbo began his career in 1998 on the independent circuit, using a surfer gimmick and the
ring name "The Dude". He made his debut appearance on
World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s
Nitro on October 19, 1998, as a fan who accepted the challenge of
Ernest "The Cat" Miller. Six months later, he was offered a training contract by WCW in April 1999. Just prior to the hiring of
Vince Russo and
Ed Ferrera as bookers for WCW, many of the WCW Power Plant wrestlers debuted on
Saturday Night and
WorldWide.
World Tag Team Champion (2000–2001) On January 19, 2000, at ''WCW Saturday Night Taping (January '00 #3)'', Chuck Palumbo defeated
Mike Sanders. On February 16, at ''WCW Saturday Night Taping (February '00 #4)'', Palumbo teamed with Sonny Siaki to defeat
Allan Funk and
Rick Cornell. On March 1, at ''WCW Saturday Night Taping (March '00 #1)'', Palumbo and Siaki challenged
Big Vito and
Johnny The Bull for the WCW World Tag Team Titles but was unsuccessful at winning the titles. On March 5, at
WCW Live, Palumbo defeated
Bobby Eaton. On March 14, at
WCW WorldWide Taping' Chuck Palumbo was defeated by
Lenny Lane. In 2000, Palumbo made his debut on WCW television on the March 21, 2000, edition of
Thunder under his real name, losing to
Scott Steiner. On April 15, at ''NJPW Strong Energy '00 Day 2'', Palumbo teamed with Rick Cornell and
Osamu Kido but was defeated by
Brian Johnston,
Junji Hirata and
Tadao Yasuda in a 6 man tag match. On April 16, at ''NJPW Strong Energy '00 Day 3'', Palumbo teamed with Rick Cornell, Dan Devine and Takashi Lazuka but was defeated by Hiro Saito, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Super J and Tatsutoshi Goto in a 8 person tag match.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001–2004) The Alliance (2001) Palumbo and O'Haire made their WWF debuts on the June 28, 2001, episode of
SmackDown! as part of
The Alliance, attacking the
Hardy Boyz. O'Haire and Palumbo started feuding with the
Acolytes Protection Agency (A.P.A.) in the following weeks, which ended at
WWF Invasion on July 22, 2001, when the
Acolytes Protection Agency defeated them. Subsequently, O'Haire and Palumbo defeated the Hardy Boyz on the August 2, 2001, edition of
SmackDown!. O'Haire and Palumbo lost the WCW Tag Team Championship to the
Brothers of Destruction (
The Undertaker and
Kane) on the August 9, 2001, edition of
SmackDown! and lost their rematch for the tag-team gold in a
steel cage match the following week on
Raw. O'Haire and Palumbo's last televised match together was on the August 26 edition of
Heat defeating the
Holly Cousins (
Hardcore and
Crash). O'Haire was sent to developmental territory
Ohio Valley Wrestling in early September 2001, and Palumbo was thrown out of The Alliance on the October 25 edition of
SmackDown! by storyline co-owner of The Alliance,
Stephanie McMahon. He joined the WWF in November.
Billy and Chuck (2001–2002) (right) present Captain Doug Dupuoy of the U.S. Navy a WWF Championship Belt in 2002 When he returned, Palumbo found a tag team partner in
Billy Gunn. The pair started as a tag team working dark matches, but were later given a
gimmick that saw the pair grow increasingly affectionate towards each other, showing evidence of a
homosexual relationship. Palumbo became known simply as Chuck, and he bleached his hair blond to match Gunn's. On the February 21, 2002, edition of
SmackDown!, Billy and Chuck defeated
Tazz and
Spike Dudley to win the
WWF Tag Team Championship. Palumbo made his WrestleMania debut at
WrestleMania X8, when Billy and Chuck defend their titles in a
Four corners elimination match against the
APA, The
Dudley Boyz, and The Hardy Boyz. They lost the tag team gold to
Rikishi and their stylist
Rico Constantino, who was forced to team with Rikishi on May 19, 2002, at
Judgment Day. Less than a month later Rico helped Billy and Chuck recapture the title, but they later lost it to
Edge and
Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Just before they tied the knot, however, they revealed that the entire ordeal was a
publicity stunt, and both characters disavowed their on-screen homosexuality. When Billy and Chuck decided not to go through with the marriage, Rico turned on them by helping Eric Bischoff and
3-Minute Warning attack the duo. Rico subsequently jumped to
Raw as the manager of 3-Minute Warning, who beat Billy and Chuck at
Unforgiven. Billy was injured in early October 2002, and Chuck worked on
Velocity for a few months using his original ring name Chuck Palumbo once again.
The Full Blooded Italians (2003–2004) In February 2003, Palumbo formed the
Full Blooded Italians (F.B.I.) in WWE, a faction which had previously been seen in
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). After a beating at the hands of Rikishi,
Nunzio threatened to bring in his "family" in order to gain revenge. The next week, Palumbo and
Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli joined Nunzio to form the F.B.I. and attacked Rikishi. This version initially gained little success, but would go on to have brief feuds with
Los Guerreros,
Chris Benoit,
Rhyno,
Brian Kendrick,
Nathan Jones, the APA, and The Undertaker. Palumbo was traded to the
Raw brand on March 22, 2004, along with
A-Train in exchange for Rico and
Jackie Gayda. After Palumbo was traded to the Raw brand, he was kept off television until July 2004, when he debuted with a new look and entrance music. His new image resembled a cross between an
auto mechanic and a
greaser. He would later give himself the nickname "Custom Chucky P." It was not long before Palumbo was a regular on
Sunday Night Heat. His new gimmick started off usually losing matches but began to rise on
Heat, defeating the likes of
The Hurricane,
Rosey,
Val Venis and
Stevie Richards. On the October 31, 2004, airing of
Heat, Palumbo had his most high-profile match on the Raw brand when he faced former
World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit, but was defeated. Palumbo was released by WWE soon after on November 4, 2004.
Independent circuit (2005–2006) Palumbo, along with Johnny Stamboli, went on to become a member of
Voodoo Murders of
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and feuded against
Roughly Obsess and Destroy. Palumbo teamed with former FBI partner Stamboli to challenge for the
World Tag Team Championship on March 20, 2005, but were defeated by Jamal and Taiyo Kea of RO&D. Stamboli and Palumbo's next stop would be with the
Nu-Wrestling Evolution promotion in
Italy, where the pair reformed the FBI. The duo also made appearances in a
World Wrestling Council show where they challenged
Último Dragón,
Místico, and
Negro Casas, in a tag team match which they would win by securing both the first and third falls. In early 2006, he made appearances in Mexico for Toryumon Mexico.
Return to WWE (2006–2008) (top) and Chuck Palumbo competing at a
Raw house show in 2007 In March 2006, Palumbo re-signed with the WWE and began working
house shows and
dark matches over the next year. Palumbo officially returned on the May 25, 2007, edition of
Heat with a biker gimmick, and defeated
Charlie Haas. He then continued making appearances on
Heat, where he consistently defeated jobbers. In an
interview with WWE.com, Palumbo claimed that the biker character was not a gimmick and that he works on bikes two or three times a week. On July 6, 2007, Palumbo made his
SmackDown! re-debut, defeating
Kenny Dykstra in his return match. Palumbo began an on-screen relationship with
Michelle McCool, whom he teamed with to defeat Dykstra and
Victoria in a
mixed tag team match. He then feuded with
Jamie Noble, after Noble made advances towards McCool. After a series of matches between the men, Noble won a
date with McCool by defeating Palumbo. Palumbo accidentally elbowed McCool during a match, causing her to suffer a storyline
concussion. The partnership was dissolved when McCool refused to accept his apology the following week. Palumbo vowed to get revenge on Noble, and defeated Noble the following week. Palumbo participated in the
Royal Rumble match, where he eliminated Jamie Noble. He next appeared at
WrestleMania XXIV, taking part in a 24-man Interpromotional Battle Royal to crown a number one contender to the ECW Championship, where he also eliminated Noble. During a series of house shows in June 2008, Palumbo challenged
Matt Hardy for the United States Championship, though he was unsuccessful in winning the championship. As part of the
2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Palumbo was drafted to the Raw brand. He never made his return to the brand however, as he was released from his WWE contract on November 7, 2008.
Independent circuit (2008–2012) Palumbo returned to Mexico to team with
Damián 666 and
Konnan in a losing effort against D-Generation MEX at
Wrestling in Tijuana on December 25, 2008. He also teamed with Konnan in
World Wrestling Association. Palumbo wrestled for
Ultimo Dragon's
Toryumon promotion and competed in the
IWL World Title Tournament in Mexico as well. He returned to Nu-Wrestling (now named
New Wrestling Entertainment, and located in France) in September 2009, and feuded with
Mr. Anderson. Palumbo, Anderson and Tiny Iron competed in a triple threat for the vacant NWE Heavyweight Championship, which Anderson won. Palumbo challenged Anderson to a match for the championship on October 3, 2009, but was defeated. On November 13, 2009, Palumbo won the Herts and Essex Wrestling (HEW) Heavyweight Championship from Brett Meadows in Braintree, England. He is the first American to hold the British promotion's championship. However, he lost the championship back to Meadows two days later in Colchester, England following interference from Sam Knee and
Britani Knight. In an interview with
Hit The Ropes Radio, Palumbo confirmed he was in talks with
TNA to sign with the company, though he opted not to sign. Palumbo wrestled his final match at Future Stars Wrestling's New Years Resolution event in 2012, where he defeated Jayson Cash. After this, he quietly retired, and confirmed to Bill Apter in a 2014 interview that his wrestling career was over. ==Other endeavors==