Rad Radford

[Mr. JL]

Don;t know if that is the proper spelling of his name, however, that is how I would spell it. So, I was justwatching Survivor Series '95 and I saw this guy in a match. Instantly, I thought he was someone from ECW but I cannot recall who he is. I'm pretty sure he was in ECW at one point or some other popular promotion.

Anyone have the low down on his previous characters and what feds he's been in because it may help 'jog' my memory. Or you could just fill in the blanks for me...

[Rob]

Louie Spicolli. Worked for the Big 3 before he died.

[Mr. JL]

Thank you. *rep* I really liked watching Louie wrestle in ECW. can't comment on his WWF or WCW work because I haven't seen much. Pretty good wreslter in my opinion. A shame he passed away.

[KayfabeMan]

Well, in ECW he was just Louie Spicolli. They also gave him a nickname of "The Innovator of Offense", which he carried with him to WCW - and often wore on his shirts while wrestling there. In Mexico, he was "Madonna's Boyfriend", and in WWF as everyone obviously knows, he was "Rad Radford".

Back in ECW he had some pretty decent feuds, including working with Dreamer often (where Dreamer got the Spicolli Driver from, and why he often screamed 'Louie' before doing it after Louie's passing); and he had some good matches in WWE before being pushed into shitty angles, one - coincidentally - with the the late Chris Candido. I would say that his most notable angle came in WCW, where he worked a program with Scott Hall and Larry Zbyszko.

[KayfabeMan]

On a side note, I remember seeing him work live with WWF at Madison Square Garden. He was a complete athlete, and definitely seemed like he fit there. Leaving out all of his personal problems for a moment, I think the reason that Louie couldn't "get over" mainstream was that he was naturally just a easy going guy.

He seemed that he couldn't carry a gimmick, as no matter what he was supposed to be doing - heeling, facing, whatever - there was always a smile / smirk right behind it, like he just enjoyed doing what he was doing, and wanted to have fun while doing it.

Shame that his life ended the way it did, but what can you do? RIP.

[mrslackalack]

It seemed like he was getting a push in WCW before his death.

[KayfabeMan]

Yeah, he got some OK TV time with the Hall and Zbyszko feud, and was doing OK for himself. I personally didn't buy Louie as a higher card guy, but I think he could've been a solid lower/mid-card guy for either WWE or WCW. I also think his strength would've come in the tag division, where his partner could be more of the voice.

I would've bought Louie in the higher card in ECW, just because of the way that things were there - but never as a main guy in either of the top 2 promotions.

[Loose Cannon]

I loved that angle Louie was in with Hall. He played the sidekick roll really good.