Using the ring name Phil Apollo working for International Championship Wrestling (ICW) in his native Boston, Massachusetts.
In March 1987 Apollo defeated Joseph Savoldi to win the ICW Heavyweight Championship.
[1][2] He moved on to working in Texas for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) where he became part of manager Gary Hart's "New Age Management" group who also included Abdullah the Butcher, Al Perez, Jeep Swenson and John Nord.
[4] He later wrestled at the 5th Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions as well as WCCW's 5th Cotton Bowl extravaganza.
[7][8] During the early 1990s, Apollo competed as a preliminary wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) most notably facing Adam Bomb with manager Johnny Polo in their debut on Monday Night Raw in 1993.