He is sometimes credited as being the inventor of the Death Valley driver finisher and even wore T-shirts in WCW stating it,[5] though some say it was created by Japanese female wrestler Etsuko Mita.

[6] At the age of 17, Mucciolo began training with "Big" Bill Anderson after the two met at a wrestling show held at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

He debuted in 1988 aged 17, working as a jobber for the World Wrestling Federation, using the ring name Louie Spicolli and would continue to use this name in squash matches until March 1995.

[7] His occasional appearances saw him lose to many of the WWF's top stars, though he did register two victories in 1993, defeating The White Knight (actually his trainer, Bill Anderson) and The Lightning Kid.

[7] In 1989, he traveled to Tijuana, Mexico with Tim Patterson and his trainer, Bill Anderson, with whom he formed a stable known as "Los Mercenarios Americanos" ("The American Mercenaries").

In 1994, Spicolli appeared briefly with Smoky Mountain Wrestling, feuding with Chris Candido for the United States Junior Heavyweight Championship.

He left shortly afterward and joined Asistencia Asesoría y Administración as "Madonna's Boyfriend", one of Los Gringos Locos along with Eddie Guerrero, Konnan, and Art Barr.

Spicolli had stopped taking drugs after renewed fears for his health, but the news that his mother was terminally ill with cancer led to a relapse.