Antonio Thomas (wrestler)

1.1. Early Life and Education

Thomas Matera was born on December 13, 1978; however, the Japanese source indicates a birthdate of December 23, 1980. While his official WWE profile once listed his birthplace as Panama City, Florida, he actually grew up in Ludlow, Massachusetts. He attended Ludlow High School after completing his middle school education at Birchland Park Middle School in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. As of 2020, he was married on October 31, 2020, and resides in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Japanese source also notes his birthplace as Springfield, Massachusetts.

1.2. Other Endeavors and Public Appearances

Outside of professional wrestling, Matera is a certified personal trainer. He has academic aspirations to obtain a Master's degree in Exercise Science and Strength and Conditioning. Matera has also made appearances in other media, including the September 7, 2008, edition of Sox Appeal, and on the Wrestling Observer Live show.

2.1. Early Career (2001-2004)

Matera began his professional wrestling career in late 2001, adopting the ring name Antonio Thomas. He quickly established himself as a prominent figure on the New England independent circuit, wrestling for promotions such as New England Championship Wrestling (NECW), Chaotic Wrestling, and the Eastern Wrestling Alliance (EWA).

In early 2003, Thomas commenced training under Rick Harrison and began competing for Bradley's Wrestling Federation of America (WFA). During his time in WFA, he captured the WFA Heavyweight Championship, holding the title for the majority of 2003 and 2004.

Thomas then formed a tag team known as The Heartbreakers with his long-time friend Romeo Roselli, who was wrestling as Johnny Heartbreaker. On January 23, 2004, The Heartbreakers defeated Cueball and Nick McKenna to secure the EWA Tag Team Championship.

2.2. World Wrestling Entertainment (2004-2006)

In July 2004, Thomas signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE's then-developmental territory. He continued to team with Heartbreaker (now Romeo) in OVW, but it was not until February 2005 that Romeo officially signed his own developmental contract with WWE.

On April 18, 2005, the duo, now known as The Heart Throbs (Antonio and Romeo), made their official main roster debut on Raw. In their debut match, they unsuccessfully challenged William Regal and Tajiri for the World Tag Team Championships. They later participated in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship at the 2005 Backlash pay-per-view, where they were again unsuccessful.

Portraying heels, The Heart Throbs primarily appeared on Heat, the Raw B-show. They engaged in brief feuds with teams such as Eugene and William Regal, The Hurricane and Rosey, and V-Squared (Val Venis and Viscera). The Japanese source notes that their role in WWE was often as jobbers. During the first episode of Heat in 2006, the pair transitioned into faces, attempting to "educate the crowd" by having two "hot chicks" read a book in the ring. On February 10, 2006, WWE announced the release of The Heart Throbs from their contracts.

2.3. Post-WWE Independent Circuit (2006-present)

Following his release from WWE, Thomas reverted to his Antonio Thomas ring name and resumed working on the New England independent circuit.

On May 27, 2006, Thomas debuted for MXW, pinning Jason Blade after an interruption by Romeo Roselli. At the InterPromotional Incident event on July 8, 2006, Thomas and Blade teamed up to defeat the duo of Roselli and Xavier. On November 10, 2006, Thomas wrestled Claudio Castagnoli (now known as Antonio Cesaro) in one of the main events at Capital Collision in Albany, New York. His final appearance for MXW was at Brass City Battle on November 12, 2006, where he faced Slyk Wagner Brown.

On February 22, 2009, Thomas competed in a dark match for Ring of Honor, teaming with Prince Jaleel in a losing effort against Andy Ridge and Alex Payne. In May 2009, Thomas achieved a significant victory by winning the NECW Iron 8 Tournament.

On July 28, 2012, The Heart Throbs made their debut for Chikara, participating in an eight-man tag team match alongside The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), where they were defeated by the team of Hallowicked, Jigsaw, Mike Quackenbush, and UltraMantis Black. The Heart Throbs returned to Chikara on November 18, losing a tag team match to 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty.

On February 1, 2013, Thomas captured the vacant NECW Heavyweight Championship at NECW Snowbrawl, defeating Johnny Thunder. The championship had been vacated due to the previous title holder, Sean Burke, suffering an ankle injury during a title defense against Antonio Thomas, which had ended in a time limit draw.

2.4. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2007)

On March 11, 2007, Thomas and Roselli, under their original tag team name "The Heartbreakers", appeared at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) Destination X pay-per-view. They were introduced as Christy Hemme's mystery team but lost their match to The Voodoo Kin Mafia (B.G. James and Kip James).

2.5. Japan (2008, 2010)

Thomas has competed for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) on multiple occasions. In 2008, Thomas and Akebono were defeated by Rene Dupree and Big Daddy Voodoo. Additionally, in a separate match, Ryota Hama, Masayuki Kono, and Shuji Kondo defeated Masakatsu Funaki, Akebono, and Antonio Thomas. In 2010, Thomas returned to AJPW as a student, primarily competing in the Junior Heavyweight League in the junior heavyweight division, where he finished with 4 points in Block A.

2.6. Italy (2012)

In June 2007, Thomas toured Italy with the Nu-Wrestling Evolution promotion. He returned to Italy in 2012, and on September 12 of that year, he was appointed as the head trainer for the Rome Wrestling Academy, an Italian professional wrestling promotion.