Cepello was raised in Arizona, where he began painting at age seven. He appeared in the music video for Michael Nesmith's "Cruisin'", which was included in the 1981 collection titled Elephant Parts. Nesmith mistakenly stated in 1989 that Hulk Hogan played the role, but he corrected his statement in 2003. In 1985, Strong appeared in Grunt!
Early Wrestling Career
Strong began wrestling in 1973, competing for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion. Much of his career was spent in Hawaii. He competed for NWA Hawaii as both a singles wrestler and as a member of several tag teams.
Several championships had been inactive due to the promotion itself being inactive from July 1974 until June 1977, and the promotion held tournaments to determine the new champions when the titles were revived in July 1977. Strong competed for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship and advanced to the final round of the tournament before losing to Bill Francis. He also made it to the final round of a tournament for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship along with partner Steve Lawler but ultimately lost to Sam Steamboat and Billy White Wolf.
Strong was then paired with Jesse Ventura, as the promoter thought that their similar heights and muscular physiques made them a good match. On July 28, Strong teamed with Ventura to win the tag team championship. They held the belts until November, when they dropped them to John Tolos and Bill Francis. In January 1978, Strong gained momentum in his rivalry with Francis, defeating him for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship and, with partner Chris Markoff, for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship as well.
Strong lost the heavyweight title to Tolos the following month but held the tag team belts until Bill and Russ Francis won the championship on April 26 that year. On June 14, Strong teamed with former rival Tolos to win the belts for the final time. They defeated Big John Studd and Buddy Rose and held the title for two months before dropping it to Mr.
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Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
The early autumn of 1975 saw changes in the Mid-Atlantic States that went beyond the advent of the colorful fall foliage. Hailing from Arizona, Graham and Strong stood out from the crowd not only because of their colorful and outlandish ring attire, but each possessed amazingly muscular physiques. Young, brash and jacked up, Graham and Strong verbally hit the territory by storm.
Graham already had a national reputation in the wrestling world, and Strong was developing one. The muscular duo would team occasionally during the fall of 1975, but Graham’s appearances were sporadic and he would often wrestle Wahoo McDaniel in specialty matches in the area’s bigger venues before leaving the territory in between Christmas and New Year’s Day. With the super strong arrival of these two in October, it’s a bit surprising that their 1975 run in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling only amounted to a largely forgotten footnote in the history books of Jim Crockett Promotions.
Ten Most Muscular Wrestlers of All Time! (Scott Steiner ... Ultimate Warrior)
The 1980s: International Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling
DiSalvo broke into professional wrestling in the mid-1980s following a career in powerlifting. Wrestling as Steve Strong in the 1980s, he was a performer in Montreal-based International Wrestling. Moving on to Stampede Wrestling, he was known as "Strangler" Steve DiSalvo. Here, he feuded with Phil LaFleur over who had the better physique. DiSalvo smashed a trophy over LaFleur's head on TV, leading to several matches between the two.
World Wrestling Council (WWC)
DiSalvo moved on to the World Wrestling Council (WWC) promotion in Puerto Rico in 1989, where he again was known as "Sadistic" Steve Strong but this time with a satanic gimmick. He had brawls with Abdullah the Butcher, TNT, and Invader #1. He also feuded with "El Acrobata de Puerto Rico" Carlos Colon.
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He also won the WWC World Tag Team Championship teaming with Jason the Terrible. He won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship in a Texas Death match by defeating Colon on May 27, 1989. He had a successful reign of 133 days until Colon defeated him at The Aniversario 1989 in a Barbed Wire match in October 7.
| Championship | Days |
|---|---|
| WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship reign | 133 |
WWF and WCW Appearances
On February 13, 1990, he received a tryout match with the WWF at a WWF Superstars taping losing to The Red Rooster. He next made an appearance on a March 18 house show in Calgary, Alberta, defeating Buddy Rose. Two weeks later, DiSalvo received a tryout match for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) on April 23, 1990. He was signed to the company later that year and given the gimmick of "The Minotaur". DiSalvo made his first televised appearance on the January 5, 1991 episode of WCW Saturday Night, defeating Man Mountain Bailey. DiSalvo also appeared in the American Wrestling Association, where he wrestled as Billy Jack Strong.
Transition to Art
Cepello has painted two portraits of former tag team partner and Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura. One, which was painted for the Governor's Mansion, shows Ventura riding a horse while holding an American flag. The other, a portrait of Ventura resting his hand on Musée Rodin's The Thinker, is displayed in the Minnesota State Capitol. The latter picture has been the subject of scrutiny, as Cepello stated before the unveiling that it would contain a reference to Ventura's wrestling career.
In 1981, he played Ivory King in Tarzan, The Ape Man. That year, he also had a role in Looker, which was directed by Michael Crichton.