Wrestling & MMA

Talking WWE NXT and more with NXT tag champs Tony D’Angelo and Channing ‘Stacks’ Lorenzo

Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo of The Family are the WWE NXT tag team champions, and don’t ever “forget about it,” or you might find yourself swimming with the fishes, especially in the Sunshine State where there are plenty of fish, water and NXT shows.

D’Angelo and “Stacks” are integral parts of the Coconut Loop/the Citrus Circuit in Florida where NXT hosts fun, cool live events (no TV), like on Friday at the Havert L. Fenn Center in Fort Pierce.

Photo By Jim Varsallone

See current NXT superstars, i.e. The Family, and future WWE and NXT superstars in an intimate setting on the loop throughout the year. Tickets cost just $20 and $10, and you’ll be close to all the action with an occasional superstar debut.

D’Angelo and “Stacks” been there, doing that.

Here is my video interview with the champs D’Angelo and “Stacks” as we cover several topics, including NXT live events, winning NXT tag team black-and-gold, The Family, baked ziti, Grandma D’Angelo, Teddy the merch man, University of Buffalo, boxing, car racing, the Florida indies and more.

D’Angelo and “Stacks” won the NXT tag team titles at the 2023 Great American Bash by defeating Gallus (a Scottish professional wrestling stable with Wolfgang and real-life brothers Joe and Mark Coffey). Prepared champions, The Family has its eyes set on formidable opponents, noting The Creed Brothers (Brutus and Julius) with Ivy Nile.

NXT is 8 p.m. Tuesdays on the USA Network.

NOTE: After attempts at boxing (something his father did) and car racing, “Stacks,” 26, turned to pro wrestling, including touring Florida and Tennessee for long-running indie group Coastal Championship Wrestling (with WWE alum Gangrel David Heath as head trainer). His base school was the Jacobs-Prichard Wrestling Academy (Kane and Dr. Tom Prichard) in Tennessee, and he also learned from WWE superstar Natalya and WWE producer Tyson Kidd. He signed with WWE in 2022 and continued to progress, honing his in-ring skills and sports entertainment style from talented coaches at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

Photo By Jim Varsallone
Photo By Jim Varsallone
Photo By Jim Varsallone

NOTE: D’Angelo, 28, was a state and national champion in amateur wrestling during his high school years at Oak Park River Forest HS in Oak Park, Illinois. His senior year he went 47-1 en route to a state title. He was a two-time greco state champion and one-time folkstyle state champion on his way to national status in greco and freestyle. He then wrestled for the University of Buffalo, where he qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2016. He signed with WWE in 2021 and developed into a pro wrestler/sports entertainer via the WWE Performance Center.

See NXT in Florida and abroad

NXT LIVE is in Fort Pierce on Friday at the Havert L. Fenn Center.

Tickets only available at etix.com

NXT LIVE is touring all of Central Florida; be sure to check out etix.com to see when your favorite NXT superstars will be in your area.

NXT is also live on the USA network at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. To find out more information on how to attend NXT free at the WWE PC, visit wwe.com/nxtlive.

NXT’s next Premium Live Event (PLE), NXT No Mercy, is Saturday, Sept. 30 at the Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California. Tickets are available on axs.com, and the show will be streaming exclusively on Peacock.

My Pro Wrestling and MMA Talk on the Web and Social Media

Web: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/

Twitter: @jimmyv3

YouTube: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingSouthFlorida/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WWE-WrestleMania-28-Miami-241160769255279/

Jim Varsallone
Miami Herald
Jim Varsallone writes a high school sports column twice a week, featuring top performers in all varsity sports (boys and girls) in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. He also covers pro wrestling, something he’s done since his college days in the late 1980s. Now in his fifth decade of coverage, he currently follows WWE (Raw, SmackDown and NXT), AEW, Ring of Honor, TNA Impact Wrestling, MLW, WOW, NWA, and the South Florida indies, mainly CCW. He writes MMA, too -- mostly profile stories and video interviews with American Top Team and Sanford MMA fighters in South Florida. As for pro wrestling, he writes feature stories and profile pieces, updates upcoming show schedules in South Florida, photographs the action and interviews talent (audio and video) -- sharing the content here and via social media on his Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel: jim varsallone (jimmyv3 channel). Support my work with a digital subscription
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