Andrew Befumo Jr. and his son Eric, better known as AJ and Big Justice, took over the Internet, passing through the aisles of Costco has Tonight’s show in less than a year thanks to their clever TikTok tricks. The Befumos exploded after posting a video at Costco, eating a chicken dish and a two-piece chocolate cookie as they browsed the store.

The video was so successful that they created their own cinematic universe, featuring a rotating cast of characters like Befumo’s wife and daughter, and a third grader named the Rizzler. But AJ Befumo has been ready for this moment his whole life, thanks to his background 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. friendship with a number of prominent professional wrestlers, such as Hollywood Nova and Blue Meanie. Befumo even teamed up with legendary Philly wrestling stable 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 walking through the curtain in a professional wrestling match. You really feel that connection with the audience, and the same thing happens with social media.

“When you make a video and you 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 you know it’s 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 their 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 personality probably amplified, I would say, about two or three times,” said the longtime friend and promoter of Befumo, Donald Bucci. “But his personality as a wrestler was amplified, maybe double or triple his actual personality. It’s family above all. He is probably the most generous and caring person I have ever met.

Befumo has made a few brief appearances in the ring in recent years for one-off retirement shows for friends, but he has never had a proper farewell from him. Now he has one. On November 23 in Newark, NJ Befumo will appear as “Big BOOM!” AJ” on All-Elite Wrestling (AEW), by far the biggest stage of his wrestling career.

“He always regretted not being able to make a really big start,” Bucci said. “No one is entitled to anything in this world, but it’s nice to finish a chapter of his own book on his own terms… This is his opportunity to show his son, more than any other thing, what dad did and how much it meant to him.

The Dawn of the American Powerchild Eric Justice

Befumo grew up during the Hulk Hogan era in WWE and was 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 stable, the Blue World Order.

“When I was little, if my hero lost, I couldn’t sleep. So I said to myself, I’m not going to do that to the children.

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

He went back to the drawing board to develop his new character, 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 character. 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 ultimate babyface.

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“It’s impossible for Andrew to be a bad guy,” Bucci said. “It’s just not possible. He just has this magnetic personality and charisma. As soon as he comes out of the curtain, everyone wants to cheer him on.

He focused on being a hard-working, all-American, packed lunch guy from New Jersey. In the early 2000s, hardcore wrestling like Philly’s Extreme Championship Wrestling, to which the Blue World Order belonged, was exploding in popularity, but Befumo kept his family act.

“When I was young, 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 makes the kids happy at home. I always wanted to be something very heroic.

“His positivity is contagious”

Befumo has wrestled in a number of New Jersey independent promotions. After each match, he welcomed the children from the audience to the ring.

“I remember at the end of the show there were so many people walking around with his 8 x 10,” Bucci said. “At wrestling shows, a lot of talent sells their photos. He was so nice, 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, in honor of Russ Haas, who died of a heart attack at the age of 27 in 2001. Russ and his brother Charlie formed a popular tag team in New Jersey and competed with Phoenix Championship Wrestling, the Bucci brothers’ wrestling promotion, and they attended Seton Hall with Befumo.

Befumo also partnered with Blue World Order for the Mike Bucci retirement show, in collaboration with Bucci and South Philly’s Brian Heffron, also known as the Blue Meanieto organize a six-way match. As a longtime friend of Bucci, Befumo was the ideal replacement for Michael Manna, better known as BWO’s Stevie Richards, who was unable to attend.

“His positivity is contagious,” Heffron said. “He listened. He was thoughtful. He did everything we thought of perfectly and added a lot to the game. When we were there at the end of the evening, raising our hands, it was a really cool moment, because the audience was happy, we were happy, and above all, my friend Nova, who was giving up with his last match, got a great last match. Andrew contributed to this with his positivity and willingness to do whatever he needed to do.

It was one of the first games Befumo’s son Eric was able to attend, and one of Befumo’s fondest memories was playing the wicked dance with the Blue Meanie and Eric in the ring.

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Getting back in the ring with AEW

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

After this show, Cuellari and Befumo stayed in touch. In his role within AEW, Cuellari is always looking for innovative ways to get people talking about wrestling. He didn’t want to collaborate with any random influencers, but as Befumo’s career on TikTok began to take off, Cuellari started thinking about how to get him back in the ring.

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

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

Befumo ultimately agreed to sign, in part because Cuellari agreed to return to the AEW ring for the first time in over a year to be part of 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.” Instead, he turned the tables on Befumo – and will face him in the ring.

Now, Befumo adopts a new persona in the ring, Big BOOM! AJ, inspired by his TikTok character, where he and his son Eric rank things on the BOOM-o-meter and rate foods with a “BOOM!” or “DOOM!” His signature move, a variation of the power bomb he called the Justice Bomb under the name American Powerchild Eric Justice, is now the Power BOOM.

But beyond that, little has changed.

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

“But Big BOOM!” AJ and American Powerchild Eric Justice are fighting for the same thing, that is, happiness and peace in the world.

In a few weeks, Big BOOM! AJ will be able to continue this fight at least one more time.