Andrew Befumo Jr. and his son, Eric, better known as AJ and Big Justice, have taken over the Internet, moving beyond the aisles of Costco. to tonight’s show in less than a year thanks to his clever TikTok tricks. The Befumos blew up after posting a video at Costco, eating a baked chicken and a double-piece chocolate chip cookie while wandering around the store.

The video was such a success that they created their own cinematic universe, with a rotating cast of characters such as Befumo’s wife and daughter, and a third grader named Rizzler. But AJ Befumo has been prepared for this moment his entire life, thanks to his past as an independent wrestler in New Jersey.

After graduating high school, Befumo attended Seton Hall and wrestled in local promotions along the Jersey Shore, such as Phoenix Championship Wrestling, in the early 2000s. He became friends with several notable professional wrestlers, such as Hollywood Nova and Blue Meanie. Befumo even teamed up with legendary Philadelphia wrestling team Blue World Order for Hollywood Nova’s retirement match.

“Wrestling has incredible storytelling and an incredible way of captivating the audience and having that one-on-one connection with the audience,” Befumo told The Inquirer. “There’s nothing like crossing the curtain in a professional wrestling match. You really feel that connection with the audience, and the same goes for social media.

“When we make a video and we see in the comments, ‘AJ, Big Justice, we can’t wait for your videos to come out every day, because they make us so happy!’ You really feel that connection and know that it is up to you to bring happiness every day.”

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Befumo always brought pieces of his wrestling personality with him. He has catchphrases, like “Bring the Boom,” with his own physical movement, and uses the same cadence in all of his videos.

“What you see now on TikTok and social media and all that is his wrestling character and his personality probably magnified, I would say, two or three times,” said Donald Bucci, Befumo’s friend and longtime promoter. “But his wrestling personality magnified him, maybe double or triple his real-life personality. He is family first. “He is probably the most generous, kind, truly caring person I have ever met.”

Befumo made a few brief in-ring appearances in recent years for one-off retirement shows for friends, but never had a true farewell of his own. Now he’s going to get one. On November 23 in Newark, New Jersey, Befumo will appear as “Big BOOM! AJ” in All-Elite Wrestling (AEW), by far the biggest stage of his wrestling career.

“He always regretted not being able to have a great send-off,” Bucci said. “No one is entitled to anything in this world, but it’s nice to finish a chapter of your own book on your own terms… This is a chance for him to show his son, more than anything else, what he used to do.” Dad and how much it meant to him.”

The Dawn of Powerful American Eric Justice

Befumo grew up during Hulk Hogan’s heyday in WWE and became captivated by the showmanship and competitiveness of professional wrestling. So when Iron Mike Sharpe opened a professional wrestling school near his hometown of Colts Neck, New Jersey, Befumo immediately knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler.

At school, Befumo met Donald Bucci, who later became his promoter, and his brother, Mike Bucci, better known as Hollywood Nova in the Philadelphia wrestling group, Blue World Order.

“When I was a kid, if my hero lost, I couldn’t sleep. So I said to myself, I’m not going to do that to kids.

“(Befumo) was a good paint-by-numbers guy when he started,” Donald Bucci told The Inquirer. “His first name was actually Tundra, the Powerchild of the Arctic. “He did a whole ice thing, where he was from the Arctic, and it was kind of cheesy and weird.”

He went back to the drawing board to develop his new character, the American Powerchild Eric Justice, inspired by Bruce Springsteen. If that name sounds familiar, it might be because Befumo’s son, known as “Big Justice” on TikTok, was named Eric Justice in honor of that person. Befumo’s wife wasn’t interested in calling him Andrew Befumo Jr., so Befumo jokingly suggested Eric Justice, and that’s what they chose.

As American Powerchild Eric Justice, Befumo was still the best babyface.

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“There’s no way Andrew is a bad guy,” Bucci said. “It’s just not possible. He has this magnetic personality and charisma. As soon as he comes out of the curtain, everyone wants to cheer him on.”

He focused his performance on being a hard-working, all-American, lunch-carrying New Jersey guy. In the early 2000s, hardcore wrestling like Philadelphia’s Extreme Championship Wrestling, where the Blue World Order belonged, was gaining popularity, but Befumo kept up his familiar act.

“When I was a kid, if my hero lost, I couldn’t sleep,” Befumo said. “So I said to myself: I’m not going to do that to the kids. I’m going to be the guy who sends the kids home happy. “I always wanted to be something very heroic.”

‘His positivism is contagious’

Befumo wrestled in several New Jersey independent promotions. After each match, he welcomed the children in the audience to the ring.

“I remember at the end of the show there were so many people walking around with their 8-by-10s,” Bucci said. “At wrestling shows, many talents will sell their photographs. “He was so kind, most of the time, that if the kids couldn’t afford it, he would just give them the photo.”

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He remained close to his friends from Iron Mike Sharpe’s wrestling school, including brothers Bucci and Haas.

One of the most special shows of Befumo’s career was the Russell Haas Memorial Tag Team Tournament, honoring Russ Haas, who died of a heart attack at age 27 in 2001. Russ and his brother Charlie were a popular tag team. in New Jersey and competed with Phoenix Championship Wrestling, the Bucci brothers’ wrestling promotion, and attended Seton Hall with Befumo.

Befumo also teamed up with Blue World Order for Mike Bucci’s retirement show, collaborating with Bucci and South Philly’s Brian Heffron, aka Blue Meanieto set up a six-man match. As an old friend of Bucci, Befumo was the perfect replacement for Michael Manna, better known as BWO’s Stevie Richards, who couldn’t attend.

“His positivity is contagious,” Heffron said. “He listened. He was thoughtful. He did everything we had thought of perfectly and added a lot to the game. When we were there at the end of the night, raising our hands, it was a really great moment, because the crowd was happy, we were happy and, most importantly, my friend Nova, who was retiring in his last match, had a great last game. “Andrew contributed to that through his positivity and willingness to do whatever it took.”

That was one of the first games Befumo’s son Eric was able to attend, and one of Befumo’s fondest memories was doing so. the evil dance with Blue Meanie and Eric in the ring.

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Returning to the ring with AEW

In Befumo’s last match as an independent wrestler, he passed the torch to a young wrestler competing in his first professional match, known as American Bulldog. That wrestler, Michael Cuellari, is better known now as QT Marshall, AEW’s current vice president of entertainment and creative coordination, who will be in Philadelphia on Saturday for AEW Collision at the Liacouras Center.

After that show, Cuellari and Befumo kept in touch. In his role at AEW, Cuellari is always looking for innovative ways to get people talking about wrestling. He didn’t want to collaborate with any random influencer, but when Befumo’s TikTok career started to take off, Cuellari started thinking about how to get him back into the ring.

But Befumo wasn’t sure he was ready to get back into the game.

“He went to (AEW) All Out and said, ‘Yeah, I don’t belong in that ring,’” Cuellari told The Inquirer. “I know a lot of the fans, most of the fans don’t even realize he was a wrestler, right? But he is a wrestler and has the utmost respect for professional wrestling. I thought it was a no-brainer. Okay, he’s a wrestler, he’s going to use this little fame he has from TikTok to become a wrestler again, but no. He wanted to stay away from it and I just couldn’t believe it. Luckily I am a good salesman.”

Befumo eventually agreed to sign, in part because Cuellari agreed to return to the AEW ring for the first time in over a year to be on a tag team with him. But Cuellari, a notorious AEW villain as part of the Nightmare Family, knew he couldn’t team up with Befumo, the “ultimate babyface.” So instead, he turned the tables on Befumo and will face him in the ring.

Now, Befumo is taking on a new in-ring persona, Big BOOM! AJ, inspired by his TikTok character, where he and his son Eric sort things on the BOOM-o-meter and review food with a “BOOM!” or “DOOM!” His signature move, a variation of the powerbomb he called the Justice Bomb after American Powerchild Eric Justice, is now the Power BOOM.

But beyond that, not much has changed.

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“I still think Big BOOM! “AJ is someone that people can reach out to, he is someone that people can believe in, he is someone that can fight for those who can’t fight for themselves,” Befumo said. “He is a slightly more cheerful and strident character than the more structured and heroic Eric Justice.

“But big BOOM! “AJ and the powerful American Eric Justice fight for the same thing, which is happiness and peace in the world.”

In a couple of weeks, Big BOOM! AJ will be able to keep that fight going at least one more time.