Dean Malenko

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Dean Malenko
Malenko in 2019
Birth nameDean Simon
Born (1960-08-04) August 4, 1960 (age 63)[1][2]
Irvington, New Jersey, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Julie Hittinger
​
(m. 1996)​
Children3
FamilyBoris Malenko (father)
Joe Malenko (brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Ciclope[3]
Dean Malenko
Dean Sarcoff
Great Pumpkin
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[4]
Billed weight212 lb (96 kg)[4]
Billed fromTampa, Florida, U.S.[4]
Trained byBoris Malenko[4][1]
DebutFebruary 18, 1985[5]
RetiredFebruary 27, 2007

Dean Simon

road agent and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).[4]

Although never a

world champion, Malenko achieved championship success in ECW, WCW and the WWF, winning 11 total titles across the three organizations. Pro Wrestling Illustrated named Malenko the #1 wrestler in the world in 1997, and he was inducted into the Hardcore Hall of Fame in 2015.[9] He has been described by commentators as one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time.[10] Multiple-time world champion Bryan Danielson said that his "number one guy, growing up, was Dean Malenko".[11]
Following his retirement as an in-ring competitor, he worked as a road agent for WWE from 2001 until 2019.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1979–1994)

Malenko was born into a wrestling family, and his father

Clash of the Champions XIX
.

Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling (1994–1995)

See also: The Triple Threat

On August 27, 1994, Malenko debuted in

NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He defeated Osamu Nishimura in the quarterfinals before he ended up losing to the eventual winner Shane Douglas in the semifinals.[12][13] Malenko became known as "The Shooter" and was given a gimmick similar to an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter (due to his resemblance to Royce Gracie). On November 4, 1994, he defeated 2 Cold Scorpio to win his first ECW Television Championship.[14][15]

In the beginning of 1995, Malenko formed a

Three Way Dance, he and Benoit lost the tag titles to The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock).[20]

In the summer of 1995, Malenko

two out of three falls match against Guerrero, which took place on August 26. The match ended in a draw as the last fall had both men's shoulders on the mat.[23] This would be both men's last match in ECW and they both gave—and received—an emotional farewell to the fans.[2]

World Championship Wrestling (1995–2000)

Cruiserweight Champion; United States Heavyweight Champion (1995–1998)

In September 1995, Malenko and Benoit joined

Halloween Havoc 1996.[24][29]

After a successful title defense against

United States Title belt.[34]

Malenko then entered a feud with Guerrero, angry over the fact that he had caused him to lose his Cruiserweight belt and began to attempt to win the United States title from him. The match between the two took place at

The Giant.[35] At Starrcade 1997, he challenged Guerrero for the Cruiserweight Title but ended up losing the match.[36]

In mid-1998, Malenko engaged in a

special guest referee during Jericho's defense against Juventud Guerrera.[41] Juventud won the match and the title.[41]

The Four Horsemen; The Revolution (1998–2000)

Main articles:
Revolution

In September 1998, Malenko became a part of the

Rey Mysterio Jr. and Billy Kidman.[28]

After the Horsemen were finally disbanded in May 1999 due to Flair's abuse of power, Malenko joined up with

The Varsity Club. Malenko's last WCW match was a "catch-as-catch-can" match with Billy Kidman at Souled Out. Early on, Malenko instinctively left the ring to regroup and was disqualified under the match stipulations because his feet hit the arena floor.[48]

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2000–2019)

The Radicalz; Light Heavyweight Champion (2000–2001)

Main article: The Radicalz

After being granted his release from WCW the night after his last WCW match, Malenko signed with the

promotion's light heavyweight division. Along with Guerrero, Benoit, and Saturn, he had some measure of success as part of The Radicalz. On the March 13 edition of Raw Is War, Malenko defeated Essa Rios for his first Light Heavyweight Championship.[50][51] In April 2000, he feuded with Scotty 2 Hotty who was the new challenger for his Light Heavyweight title. He dropped the title to Scotty on the April 17 edition of Raw Is War[50] before he won his second WWF Light Heavyweight Championship from Scotty on the April 27 episode of SmackDown!.[52] At Backlash 2000, Malenko successfully defended the title against Scotty, thus ending the feud between the two.[53]

Later that year, with Benoit having drifted away from the group, Malenko engaged in a feud with Guerrero and Saturn which stemmed from Guerrero's on-screen relationship with

Lita and feuded with her tag team the Hardy Boyz. He even offered Lita a title match for his Light Heavyweight Championship, but under the condition that if she lost she would be obliged to go on a date with him.[55] Lita accepted and almost caught Malenko by a few nearfalls throughout the match, but in the end lost the match by submitting to his signature Cloverleaf.[55]

Malenko's feud with the

handicap match between Malenko, and both Jacqueline and Ivory, costing him the match.[50] After both Guerrero and Benoit drifted away from the Radicalz, Malenko teamed with Saturn for a few weeks before quietly disappearing off television as the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline began in summer 2001.[57]

Retirement (2001–2019)

Malenko's third-last wrestling match took place at the 4th Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in August 2001, where he teamed with longtime friend Perry Saturn and defeated Raven and Justin Credible.[58] That December, he defeated his student, Chad Collyer, by disqualification in the WWF farm promotion, the Heartland Wrestling Association, in what was Malenko's final match.[59] Malenko appeared in the ring along with other WWE alumni during WWE Raw Homecoming on October 3, 2005.[60]

His close friend

SmackDown!, Malenko once again appeared after a match between Chris Benoit and Triple H, and the three embraced.[62] After the 2006 Royal Rumble, he was seen congratulating Rey Mysterio on his Rumble victory. At Vengeance: Night of Champions in June 2007, he appeared in a backstage segment watching Chavo Guerrero Jr..[63] The next night on the Chris Benoit memorial episode of Monday Night Raw, he talked about the life of Chris Benoit. He was very sad since two of his close friends, Eddie and Benoit, both died, but said he was happy that they were together again.[64]

On February 27, 2007,

AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura.[68]

On April 26, 2019, Malenko and WWE ended their working relationship. This came after Malenko was a road agent for them for the previous 18 years.

Pro Wrestling Insider would later report that he did not do anything wrong, WWE was just in the process of cycling out some of the older agents, due to the recent signings of multiple new agents.[70]

All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)

On May 24, 2019,

senior producer, which he makes occasional appearances on TNT since his last match on the December 27, 1999, episode of WCW Monday Nitro.[71] He made an appearance in Philadelphia following the October 8, 2021, edition of Rampage when Tony Khan called him out alongside Jerry Lynn, Taz and Chris Jericho to thank them for inspiring him.[72]

Personal life

Simon is Jewish.[73] He and his wife Julie have three children.[74] Their eldest, Larrisa, was born December 25, 1997.[75]

Simon had a heart attack in the latter half of 2010, but was back at work by Survivor Series on November 21.[76] In November 2013, he was taken to a hospital and later sent home from a WWE European tour after suffering chest pains.[77] Simon is living with Parkinson's disease.[78]

Championships and accomplishments

See also

  • List of Jewish professional wrestlers

References

  1. ^ a b "Dean Malenko's Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Dean Malenko's Bio". Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Slamboree 1998 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 2, 2008. Ciclope (Dean Malenko) won a "cruiserweight battle royal" (8:27). Dean Malenko beat Chris Jericho (7:02) via submission to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
  4. ^ a b c d e "Dean Malenko". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  5. ^ cite web|url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=531&page=20
  6. ^ Varsallone, Jim (January 24, 1999). "The Past Makes A Bright Present". Miami Herald. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  7. ^ Greer, Jamie (May 24, 2019). "The Iceman Cometh: Dean Malenko Joins AEW As Senior Producer/Coach". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  8. ^ Currier, Joseph (May 24, 2019). "Dean Malenko signs with AEW as senior producer/coach". WON/F4W – WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. Wrestling Observer. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 – 1997". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
  10. ^ Top 20 Underrated Wrestlers of All Time
  11. ^ "Daniel Bryan". Wrestling With Rosenberg. June 18, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  12. ^ "NWA World Title Tournament results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 25, 2008. Dean Malenko beat Osamu Nishimura vis submission. Shane Douglas pinned Dean Malenko
  13. ^ "NWA World Title Tournament 1994". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  14. ^ a b c "ECW Television Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  15. ^ "ECW results – November 4, 1994". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved May 25, 2008. Dean Malenko pinned Too Cold Scorpio to win the ECW TV Title
  16. ^ "Triple Threat Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  17. ^ a b "ECW Tag Team Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  18. ^ "Return of the Funker results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko beat The Tazmaniac & Sabu (10:28) to win the ECW Tag Title when Benoit pinned Sabu
  19. ^ "ECW results – March 18, 1995". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Too Cold Scorpio pinned Dean Malenko (13:34) to win the ECW TV Title
  20. ^ "Three Way Dance results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. The Public Enemy beat Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko and The Tazmaniac & Rick Steiner (19:56) in a "three-way dance" to win the ECW Tag Title
  21. ^ "ECW results – July 21, 1995". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Dean Malenko pinned Eddie Guerrero to win the ECW TV Title
  22. ^ "ECW results – July 28, 1995". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Eddie Guerrero pinned Dean Malenko to win the ECW TV Title
  23. ^ "ECW results – August 26, 1995". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Dean Malenko drew Eddie Guerrero in three falls
  24. ^ a b c d "WWE Cruiserweight Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  25. ^ "Slamboree 1996: Lord of the Ring results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. WCW Cruiserweight Champ Dean Malenko pinned Brad Armstrong (8:29)
  26. ^ "The Great American Bash 1996 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. WCW Cruiserweight Champ Dean Malenko pinned Rey Mysterio, Jr. (17:50)
  27. ^ "Bash at the Beach 1996 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. WCW Cruiserweight Champ Dean Malenko pinned Dean Malenko (12:04)
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  29. ^ "Halloween Havoc 1996 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Dean Malenko pinned Rey Misterio, Jr. (18:32) to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
  30. ^ "World War 3 1996 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. WCW Cruiserweight Champ Dean Malenko pinned Psicosis (14:33)
  31. ^ "Starrcade 1996 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. J Crown Champ Ultimate Dragon pinned Dean Malenko (18:30) to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
  32. ^ "Clash of the Champions XXXIV results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Dean Malenko beat Ultimate Dragon (15:07) via submission to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
  33. ^ "SuperBrawl VII results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Syxx pinned Dean Malenko (11:57) to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
  34. ^ "SuperBrawl". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.
  35. ^ "World War 3 1997 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. Scott Hall won a "three ring battle royal" (29:48)
  36. ^ "Starrcade 1997 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 1, 2008. WCW Cruiserweight Champ Eddie Guerrero pinned Dean Malenko (14:57)
  37. ^ "Uncensored 1998 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 2, 2008. WCW Cruiserweight Champ Chris Jericho beat Dean Malenko (14:42) via submission
  38. ^ a b "Dean Malenko's fourth Cruiserweight Championship reign". WWE. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  39. ^ "The Great American Bash 1998 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 3, 2008. Chris Jericho beat Dean Malenko (13:52) via DQ to win the vacant WCW Cruiserweight Title
  40. ^ a b "Bash at the Beach 1998 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 3, 2008. Rey Misterio, Jr. pinned Chris Jericho (6:00) to apparently win the WCW Cruiserweight Title. However, the title was returned to Jericho due to interference by Dean Malenko
  41. ^ a b "Road Wild 1998 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 3, 2008. Juventud Guerrera pinned Chris Jericho (16:24) to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title. Dean Malenko was the guest referee
  42. ^ "Four Horsemen Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 3, 2008.
  43. ^ "SuperBrawl IX results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 3, 2008. Barry Windham & Curt Hennig beat Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko (1:52) to win the vacant WCW Tag Title when Windham pinned Malenko
  44. ^ "WCW Tag Team Title Tournament 1999". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 3, 2008.
  45. ^ a b "W.C.W. World Tag Team Title". The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  46. ^ "Uncensored 1999 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 3, 2008. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko beat Curt Hennig & Barry Windham (16:58) to win the WCW Tag Title when Benoit pinned Windham
  47. ^ "Revolution Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  48. ^ "Souled Out 2000 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved June 4, 2008. Billy Kidman beat Dean Malenko (2:36) in a "catch-as-catch-can" match. Malenko lost by touching the floor
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  50. ^ a b c d "WWF Light Heavyweight Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
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  52. ^ "Dean Malenko's second Light Heavyweight Championship reign". WWE. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  53. ^ "Backlash 2000 official results". WWE. Retrieved December 27, 2012. Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko def. Scotty 2 Hotty
  54. ^ "Judgment Day 2000 official results". WWE. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
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  71. ^ AEW Staff (May 24, 2019). "Globally Renowned Producer & Coach Dean Malenko Joins AEW". All Elite Wrestling. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  72. ^ "AEW Shares Video Of Tony Khan Honoring ECW In Philadelphia Along With Taz, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, Jerry Lynn, and CM Punk". Wrestling Headlines. October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
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  75. ^ "Eddie Guerro vs. Dean Malenko, WCW Starrcade 1997: Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  76. ^ Muchnick, Irv (November 22, 2010). "WWE News: Backstage agent reportedly suffered recent heart attack, update on Connecticut's independent contractor investigation". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  77. ^ Martin, Adam (November 24, 2013). "Dean Malenko sent home by WWE for chest pains".
  78. ^ Davis, Paul (August 31, 2019). "Dean Malenko reveals he has Parkinson's disease". Wrestling News | Wwe and Aew Results, Spoilers, Rumors & Scoops.
  79. ^ @JANELABABY (August 13, 2020). "Breaking New: New Ironman Heavymetal 24/7 Champion & REW Pakistan Champion.... @sammyguevara @ddtpro @ddtpro_eng" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  80. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 – PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  81. ^ @JANELABABY (August 13, 2020). "BREAKING NEWS: NEW IRONMAN HEAVYMETAL 24/7 CHAMPION & REW PAKISTAN 24/7 CHAMPION.... @sammyguevara @ddtpro @ddtpro_eng" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  82. ^ "WWE United States Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved May 25, 2008.

External links

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