Franz Schumann
Franz Schumann | |
---|---|
Born | [1][2] Linz, Upper Austria, Austria[1] | 27 December 1960
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Franz Schumann |
Billed height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
Billed weight | 106 kg (234 lb)[1] |
Trained by | Rene Lasartesse[1] |
Debut | 1985[1] |
Retired | 5 July 2019[1] |
Franz Schumann is a retired
Life and career
Born on 27 December 1960 in Linz, Austria, Franz Schumann had been a natural athlete, as he had won several national amateur wrestling championships in Austria. After a successful amateur career, he decided to become a professional wrestler, and he was trained by a legendary wrestler from Switzerland named Rene Lasartesse.
Schumann made his wrestling debut in 1985 for
In February 1991, Schumann wrestled a tour with
After losing the tag team titles, Schumann refocused and became a singles wrestler. In July 1992, he defeated Fit Finlay to win his first
In 1996, Schumann returned to NJPW, to participate in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, which was won by Black Tiger II. He was in 4th place in Block A.
After his Japanese tour, Schumann immediately returned to the CWA. In July 1996, he won his fourth and final CWA World Middleweight title, defeating Fit Finlay. In February 1998, he wrestled in the
In April 1999, while wrestling for Otto Wanz and the CWA, Schumann opened up a National Wrestling Alliance territory in Germany, called NWA Germany. As CWA shut down in December 1999, Schumann was free to run his NWA territory full-time in Germany and Austria. He would also wrestle for other German and Austrian promotions as well, making him one of the hardest-working wrestlers in Europe.
However, injuries from his amateur and pro careers were catching up to him, to the point that he couldn't perform at the level he wanted to be. He wrestled his retirement match on October 18, 2002, teaming with Günther Wagner, defeating Aykut Artan and Barish Günay. Upon retiring, Schumann shut down NWA Germany.
In June 2011, Schumann made a one-night return to the ring against fellow former CWA alumnus Karsten Kretschmer, in which he lost via disqualification.[3]
In September 2017, Schumann came out of retirement to wrestle for various independent promotions throughout CWA's former territory in Germany and Austria, until he completely retired on 5 July 2019, when he wrestled Der Söldner to a no contest.
Retirement
In 2008, Schumann started to suffer a series of health problems, including a stroke and his kidneys were failing. He is currently under dialysis to maintain control of his kidneys.[3]
Championships and accomplishments
- Catch Wrestling Association
- CWA British Commonwealth Championship (1 time)
- CWA World Middleweight Championship (4 times, final)
- CWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mile Zrno
- Graz Catch Cup (1997)
- National Wrestling Alliance Germany (NWA Germany)
- NWA Germany Championship (1 time)