WWWF Alumnus ‘Battman’ Tony Marino Passes Away

Tony Marino, who is is perhaps best known for cribbing the character of Batman for his wrestling persona, has passed away. PWInsider reports that Cauliflower Alley Club President Brian Blair announced the news on Friday afternoon, writing:

“Tony Marino left us this morning to go to a better place. I’ve enjoyed Tony’s company for many years, especially the last 6 months in the rehab facility, where we would visit almost every week. Tony was able to see his 90th birthday on April 20th. He was most humbled by his recent induction into the KWSA Hall of Fame. Tony will be sadly missed.”

Marino was born Tony Sipini in 1931 and started off as a bodybuilder before he began wrestling in 1954. He would wrestle in territories across the world, working under a number of names including Dino Lanza in Australia, and began working in the WWWF in 1963. He would don is most famous gimmick in 1966, following on the back of the Batman craze that overtook the US due to the ABC series starring Adam West. He used a custom outfit created by Karl & Hildegarde’s of Columbus, Ohio and became the “Battman,” with Bruno Sammartino bringing him in for Pittsburgh where he was overseeing the city for the WWWF. He became a regular on Pittsburgh’s Studio Wrestling series and even had his own Robin.

Marino teamed with Sammartino regularly, with the Batman gimmick getting phased out as the ABC show’s popularity dropped off, with it being completely gone by 1970. The two had a run as WWWF International Tag Team Champions, a title that he would also co-hold later with Victor Rivera. He was with WWWF until 1972, after which he moved onto the territories of the National Wrestling Alliance. He teamed with Fred Curry in Detroit’s Big Time Wrestling, where he won the promotion’s version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship four times. He had an other three runs with the titles alongside Bobo Brazi.

As a solo guy in the NWA, Marino had feuds with the likes of The Stomper and Tim Brooks. He career wound down eventually and he retired in 1987.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Mr. Marino. He will be missed.