Ivan Koloff

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Ivan Koloff
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedFebruary 18, 2017(2017-02-18) (aged 74)
Winterville, North Carolina, U.S.[1]
Cause of deathLiver cancer
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Ivan Koloff[2][1]
Jim Parris[3]
Orwell Paris
Red McNulty[2]
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[4]
Billed weight298 lb (135 kg)[4]
Billed fromMoscow, Russia[4]
Trained byJack Wentworth
Dan Koloff
Debut1965[2][1]
Retired2013[3]

Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian

WWWF Championship.[1][5][2]

Early life

Perras was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and raised on a dairy farm in rural Ontario along with his six brothers and three sisters.[6]

Since first watching professional wrestling on TV at the age of eight, he wanted to become a wrestler, and would often wrestle with his brothers growing up. At age 18, he left high school and joined Jack Wentworth's wrestling school in Hamilton, Ontario, where he would lift weights and learn wrestling holds.[7] He stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall, and weighed approximately 270 pounds (120 kg). Towards the end of his career, he dropped a considerable amount of weight and was tipping the scale at 205 pounds (93 kg).

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1965–1967)

Perras debuted as an Irish rogue villain character named Red McNulty, billed from Dublin, Ireland and wrestling with an eyepatch.[2] For the next three years, he wrestled around the Toronto area, eventually quitting his regular job to wrestle in the north-western area of Canada. There, Perras acquired much wrestling experience, and from there he made his first trip to Japan.

The Russian Bear (1967–1994)

Koloff (bottom) wrestling Barry Windham, c. 1979

In 1967, Perras became "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, a bearded villainous character billed from

Superstar Billy Graham and Bob Backlund, holding the distinction, with fellow villain Stan Stasiak, as one of only two men to challenge all four of these champions.[14] Koloff would also be the first opponent to ever challenge for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage match
in a rematch loss against Sammartino. He fought in the WWWF from 1975 to 1976, 1978–1979 and 1983.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Koloff found success in the

The Russian Team
.

In April and May 1973, Koloff wrestled in Japan for the

two-out-of-three falls match. They lost the titles to Great Kusatsu and Rusher Kimura several weeks later.[15]

The Russians (which also included

The Powers of Pain, The Barbarian and The Warlord. He later split with Jones, reunited with Nikita, and feuded with Jones' team, The Russian Assassins, before leaving Jim Crockett Promotions in January 1989. In 1992, Koloff also wrestled in the first television main event of Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, beating Bobby Fulton. He lost to Ron Garvin
at Tim Horner's National Championship Wrestling on July 22, 1994. He retired afterwards.

Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992–1993)

He also spent time in

ECW Heavyweight Championship.[16]

Return to wrestling (2004–2013)

Koloff in 2011

In 2004, Koloff returned to the ring for the first time in 10 years. He wrestled in the independent circuit. On August 27, 2005, Koloff defeated Dominic DeNucci in a Russian chain match at WrestleReunion. Koloff would win his final wrestling title defeating The Barbarian in a Russian chain match for the Legends title at NWA Charlotte. On July 19, 2013, Koloff lost to Shane Douglas in an Extreme Rules match at Mega Pro. His final match was against Bob Armstrong in which Armstrong won on November 16, 2013, at Superstars of Wrestling 1 in Rome, Georgia.

Personal life

Perras wrote a book titled Is That Wrestling Fake? The Bear Facts that was released on January 1, 2007. He became a

born again Christian in 1995[17] and traveled to churches to share his testimony as an ordained minister.[2] Koloff spoke openly and candidly of his conversion to Christianity and struggles with alcohol and drugs and the crazy days of wrestling in his 2014 book, Life in the Trenches.[18] Perras was named as a defendant in a 2015 lawsuit filed by WWE after they received a letter from him indicating that he intended to sue them for concussion-based injuries sustained during his tenure with them. He was represented by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who is involved in several other lawsuits involving former WWE wrestlers. The lawsuit was dismissed in September 2018.[19]

Death

Perras died at his home in Winterville, North Carolina, on February 18, 2017, from liver cancer.[20]

Other media

Koloff is featured as a playable character in the video games Legends of Wrestling, Legends of Wrestling II and Showdown: Legends of Wrestling.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-58919-935-4
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7434-9033-7
    .
  3. ^ a b "Ivan Koloff's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c "Ivan Koloff bio". WWE. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  5. ^ Mooneyham, Mike (June 10, 2007). "'Evil Russian' softens, looks back on career". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  6. ^ Tornoe, Rob (February 18, 2017). "Legendary wrestler Ivan 'The Russian Bear' Koloff has died". Inquirer.
  7. ^ "Jack Wentworth - OWW". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0
    .
  9. ^ "Daily Pro Wrestling History (01/18): Ivan Koloff defeats Bruno Sammartino to win WWWF title". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. January 18, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  10. ^ "Remembering the night Bruno Sammartino lost the WWE Title". WWE. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  11. ISBN 978-1-55490-284-2
    .
  12. ISBN 978-1-61321-075-8
    .
  13. ^ Greer, Jamie (February 18, 2017). "Former WWE World Champion Ivan Koloff Passes Away". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  14. ISBN 978-1-4408-5351-7
    .
  15. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Ivan Koloff - matches - International Wrestling Enterprise". Cagematch.net. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "ECW Hardcore TV #14". Cage Match. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  17. ^ Courier.com, Mike Mooneyham Special to The Post and (February 25, 2017). "WWE, Ivan Koloff and an opportunity missed". Post and Courier. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  18. ^ D'Ambrosio, Brian (August 21, 2014). Life in the Trenches. Anthony Zuccarini. Firefly Books.
  19. ^ "WWE seeking to block concussion-related lawsuits". FoxSports.com. Fox Entertainment Group (21st Century Fox). July 1, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  20. ^ Shanley, Patrick (February 18, 2017). "Ivan "The Russian Bear" Koloff, Professional Wrestler, Dies at 74". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  21. ^
    ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  22. ^ Oliver, Greg (April 18, 2013). "Jake The Snake turns CAC banquet into a sobering experience". Slam Wrestling. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  23. PWInsider
    . Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  24. ^ Hoops, Brian (January 19, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/19): Ric Flair wins WWF title in 1992 Royal Rumble". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  25. ^ "HighVolumeProWrestling". Facebook.
  26. ^ "Welcome". Prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  27. ^ "Lawler, McMahon, Road Warriors among PWHF Class of 2011". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. November 26, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  28. ^ Southern Championship Wrestling (2002). "SCW Hall of Fame". SCW Superstars. SCWprowrestling.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2002. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  29. ISSN 1083-9593
    .

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ivan Koloff.
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