| Ivan Koloff | |
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| Ring name(s) | Ivan Koloff Jim Parris Orwell Paris Red McNulty The Russian Bear |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 248 lb (112 kg) - 295 lb (134 kg) (Ivan lost weight in his later career) |
| Born | August 25, 1942 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Resides | Winterville, North Carolina |
| Billed from | Russia |
| Trained by | Jack Wentworth Dan Koloff |
| Debut | February 1965 |
| Retired | September 1994 |
"The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff (born Jim Perras on August 25, 1942) is a former Canadian professional wrestler who once held the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship.
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Early life
Perras was raised on a dairy farm in the rural community of Crysler, Ontario, Canada, along with his six brothers and three sisters.
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.
Professional wrestling career
Early career
Perras debuted as an Irish rogue heel character named Red McNulty, billed from Dublin, Ireland and wrestling with an eyepatch. 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, Parris acquired much wrestling experience, and from there he made his first trip to Japan.
The Russian Bear
In 1967, Jim Perras became "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, a bearded villainous character billed from Moscow, and debuted with the International Wrestling Association in Montreal, Québec. He defeated Johnny Rougeau for the IWA International Heavyweight Title the following year. Ivan Koloff debuted in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1970, managed by Capt. Lou Albano He soon started a feud with then-WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino. On January 18, 1971, "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff defeated Sammartino in Madison Square Garden for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship by pinfall after a kneedrop from the top rope, ending Sammartino's seven and two-third years reign on top. Koloff lost the title only 21 days later to Pedro Morales, essentially being used as a "transitional" champion [as he was used to move the title from Sammartino to Morales without having the two faces work against each other), much like Stan Stasiak and the Iron Sheik would be in later years. After the loss, Koloff remained a contender for the title, but never reclaimed it, and left the WWWF in 1972.
During his time in the WWWF, Ivan Koloff wrestled WWWF title matches against Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, Superstar Billy Graham and Bob Backlund, holding the distinction, with fellow villain Stan Stasiak, as one of only two men to challenge all of these four popular champions.
During the 1970s and 80s, Koloff found success in the NWA, winning many regional tag and singles titles in the Georgia, Florida, and Mid-Atlantic territories. In February 1981, he teamed with Ray Stevens to defeat Paul Jones and Masked Superstar and capture the NWA World Tag Team Championship. This would be the first of his four reigns as a World Tag Team champion, later winning the belts with Don Kernodle and twice with his "nephew" (kayfabe), Nikita Koloff as The Russians.
The Russians (which also included Krusher Kruschev) were a top heel stable from 1984 to 1986, and Nikita, under Perras' training and mentoring, and by association, became a hated heel in his own right, and would go on to have a successful singles career of his own. After Nikita turned face on Ivan to join their enemy Dusty Rhodes in 1986, Ivan teamed with Vladimir Petrov and Dick Murdoch to get revenge. Ivan Koloff's biggest NWA feuds were against Rhodes, the Road Warriors, the Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) and Magnum T.A..
Koloff spent time in Paul Jones' stable, the Paul Jones Army in 1988, where he was a "coach" of sorts for 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. He also spent time in Eastern Championship Wrestling, appearing on the very first ECW card in 1992.
Retirement
Currently, Parris lives in Winterville, North Carolina with his wife, Renae and has four adult children. He remains active in various charities. He has written a book, titled Is That Wrestling Fake? The Bare Facts.
Parris became a born again Christian in 1995. He travels to churches to share his testimony.
Legacy
"The Russian Bear" was immortalized in the lyrics of the Ramones' song "The Crusher", from their final album, "Adios Amigos."
In the second season of the anime Code Geass, the name "Ivan Koloff" was spotted in episode 19, amongst the millions killed by the weapon F.L.E.I.J.A.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Bearhug[1]
- Russian Sickle (Jumping lariat)
- Signature moves
- Nicknames
- "The Russian Bear"
- Managers
- Bert Prentice
- Freddie Blassie
- Gary Hart
- Gene Anderson
- Johnny Valiant
- Karl Kovac
- Kevin Case
- Lou Albano
- Oliver Humperdink[2][3]
- Paul Jones
- The Saint
- Tony Angelo
- Wrestlers mangaged by Koloff
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with Pat Patterson (1), Masa Saito (3), and Nikolai Volkoff (1)
- NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (7 times) - with Ole Anderson (5) and Alexis Smirnoff (2)
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / Jim Crockett Promotions
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Don Kernodle
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (2 times)
- NWA Television Championship (3 times)
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Krusher Khruschev (1) and Dick Murdoch (1)
- NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Nikita Koloff & Krusher Khruschev (& Baron Von Raschke with Krusher injured) (1) and The Barbarian & The Warlord (1)
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (4 times) - with Nikita Koloff (1), Nikita Koloff and Krusher Khruschev (1), Ray Stevens (1), and Don Kernodle (1)
- NWA Charlotte
- NWA Charlotte Legends Championship (1 time)
- Other Titles
- ACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Vladimir Koloff
- CREW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Great Lakes Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with "Mad Dog" Maurice Vachon
- IWA (Montreal) International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- VWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Video Games
Koloff has featured in:
References
- ^ "Finishing Moves List". Other Arena. http://www.otherarena.com/nCo/finish/finish.html. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ Matt Mackinder (January 17, 2008). "Sir Oliver Humperdink recalls career of yesteryear". SLAM! Wrestling. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/05/12/4175841.html. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ "House of Humperdink". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/h/house-of-humperdink.html. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
- Wrestling With God by Chad Bonham, 2001, ISBN 1-58919-935-9, pp. 179-197.
External links
- IvanKoloff.com (Official Website)
- Profile at OWW
- "Is That Wrestling Fake? The Bear Facts" by Ivan Koloff and Scott Teal
- December 8, 2008 Audio Interview with "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff
- Ivan Koloff's Interview with John Kline of Elevation Radio
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