Mirko









Mirko "le Gitan" Sanatescu vs Fabio Costantino, ca. 2006, Studio Jenny, Nanterre

I can't tell you how many times I have watched this match. Before Ringside at Skull Island existed, I watched Mirko vs Fabio several times a week. As best as I can remember, it's the first YouTube video I ever saw. It was, for me back then, THE wrestling video. It never altogether faded from memory, but the memory dimmed over time. I never posted on it because I couldn't find decent still shots - and online information on its main draw, Mirko le Gitan (the Gypsy), was (and still is) nearly nonexistent. 

Young Fabio - billed back then as the "youngest" professional wrestler in France - first drew my attention to the video. He's tall, strapping, and ring savvy, born in Paris but the name is Italian (sometimes spelled Constantino). His ring career continued to 2016, according to Cagematch: The Internet Wrestling Database. Subsequent viewings of the video pulled me towards the hairy-chested skinhead heel Mirko. Pugnacious, peevish, indefatigable, fast on his feet, he's a master at taking and selling loud, speedy bumps. Soon he was my obsession - and he obsesses me still. His ring career was apparently short. I can't understand why. Here is the rest of his match with Fabio.  Here he is in 2007, taking on Driss Djafali. 

If anybody reading this knows more about Mirko - or has links to other matches - please drop me a line in the comments section below.



Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. This is why I love wrestling. I think this is Mirko too, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZswYfWxWRY

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  3. Great match! (I’m a bit surprised that you kept this match under wraps for so long… but pleased you decided to share it with your readers now.)

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