| Bart Gunn | |
|---|---|
 Gunn in 1995 | |
| Birth name | Michael Polchlopek[1] |
| Born | (1965-12-27)December 27, 1965 (age 59)[2] Titusville, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bart Gunn[3] Bodacious Bart[2] Brett Colt[2] Mike Barton[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[4] |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | Austin, Texas[2] |
| Trained by | Wrestling: Blackjack Mulligan Boris Malenko[1] Caesar Barraza Boxing: Ray Rinaldi[5][6] |
| Debut | 1991 |
| Retired | December 10, 2007[1] |
Michael Polchlopek (born December 27, 1965) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler andmixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1993 to 1999 under thering namesBart Gunn andBodacious Bart, as well as his appearances withAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) from 1998 to 2002 and withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) from 2002 to 2004 asMike Barton.[1][7]
Michael Polchlopek was born on December 27, 1965, inTitusville, Florida. He was a big fan of wrestling, often watchingChampionship Wrestling from Florida, and enjoyed seeingEddie andMike Graham andJack andJerry Brisco.
Polchlopek was trained to wrestle by Caesar Barraza,Blackjack Mulligan, Tim Parker andBoris Malenko. He made his debut in 1991.
In 1992, Polchlopek (wrestling as "Brett Colt") formed a tag team withKip Winchester in the Tampa, Florida-based International Championship Wrestling Alliance known as the "Long Riders".
Polchlopek was perhaps most famous in theWorld Wrestling Federation as one-half of thetag teamThe Smoking Gunns with hiskayfabe brotherBilly Gunn. They made their debut in April 1993 The team won theTag Team Championship three times before breaking up and engaging in a brief feud in October 1996. Bart Gunn briefly went into solo competition, his most high-profile match occurring onMonday Night Raw, in April 1996, which he lost to"Ringmaster" Steve Austin via the Million Dollar Dream.
Gunn feuded withBilly Gunn during the fall of 1996 after Billy turned his back on Bart. The feud ended after he defeated Billy on the December 16 episode of Monday Night Raw. His most notable victory was scoring an upset victory overTriple H by disqualification on Superstars. He also participated in the1997 Royal Rumble match being eliminated by Steve Austin. He would defeat Triple H by countout on February 17 on Raw afterGoldust chased Triple H into the crowd. Gunn would later become ajobber in 1997 losing to the likes ofFaarooq,Triple H,Ahmed Johnson andVader. His final match in this run was on June 9, 1997, on an episode ofRaw Is War againstRockabilly, where he was defeated. He disappeared from the roster afterward.
Gunn would then have a brief stint in Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling where he won their championship fromLance Diamond on May 3, 1997. Then he would drop the title toAce Darling on September 26, 1997.
Under his new managerJim Cornette, Polchlopek recreated theMidnight Express tag team as "Bodacious Bart" with partnerBombastic Bob in March 1998. The team had limited success, though they did hold theNWA World Tag Team Championship for a brief period from March to August 1998.
In July 1998, Bart Gunn participated in the WWF'sshootfight tournament, theBrawl for All. Gunn faced tag partner Bob Holly in the first round, and was declared the winner on points. Gunn next defeated"Dr. Death" Steve Williams, with a surprisingknockout on August 24. Utilizing his enormous brute strength, Gunn defeatedThe Godfather in the semi-finals, andBradshaw in the finals to win the tournament.
According to his interview in theDark Side of the Ring episode on Brawl For All, he sat home for months following this after being told byVince Russo that WWF creative had nothing for him at the time. Despite this, while still under WWF contract Gunn would sign withAll Japan Pro Wrestling in October 1998, wrestling there for three months up until January 1999. During this time he also worked in the independent circuit.
After returning to WWF television in February 1999, the WWF sent him to be trained by Ray Rinaldi (notable for trainingMarc Mero) for aWrestleMania match againstEric "Butterbean" Esch.[5][6] Gunn would then briefly feud with both Holly and Williams, both angry at having been beaten in the tournament, the latter masking himself and pushing Gunn off a stage to prevent him from winning theWWF Hardcore Championship from Holly. AtWrestleMania XV, Esch brutally knocked out Gunn in 35 seconds. Polchlopek was soon after released by WWF.
While still under contract with the WWF, Polchlopek found success wrestling in Japan (due in part to his knockout of Steve Williams, who in Japan was a longtime main-eventer and held a strong reputation for his toughness). After signing withAll Japan Pro Wrestling in October 1998, his debut would be announced on the November 1, 1998, edition of AJPW TV.[8] His first in-ring match and appearance with the company was at a pay-per-view on November 14, going by his WWF ring name Bart Gunn.[9] He would compete in the 1998 World Strongest Tag Determination League, teaming withJohnny Ace, and finishing in 4th place with 8 points.[10] He became a member of Johnny Ace's gaijin (foreign wrestlers) stable, The Movement, and the two continued to team.
Both would regularly wrestle until January 22, 1999, when Gunn returned to the WWF to fulfil the rest of his WWF contractual obligations.
Upon being released from the WWF afterWrestleMania XV, he would return to AJPW in May 1999, still maintaining fanfare and momentum even after the loss to Butterbean. On June 9, Gunn and Ace defeatedKenta Kobashi andJun Akiyama to win theWorld Tag Team Championship.[11] They held the title for a month and a half, before losing toNo Fear on July 23.[11] Following the title loss, Polchlopek stopped using the Bart Gunn name and became known asMike Barton. In late 1999, Barton and Ace took part in the 1999 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing in 5th place with 9 points.[12]
In the spring of 2000, Barton entered theChampion Carnival, defeatingMasao Inoue in the first round but losing toTakao Omori in the second.[13] On June 9, Barton and Ace took part in a tournament for the vacant World Tag Team Championship, and lost in the first round to the eventual tournament winners,The Holy Demon Army.[14] In the summer of 2000,Mitsuharu Misawa left All Japan to formPro Wrestling Noah, taking most of the native talent with him. Barton, like many of the gaijin, remained in All Japan. Johnny Ace, however, left All Japan during the split and retired from wrestling, taking an office job inWCW and later theWWF.
In January 2000,"Dr. Death" Steve Williams returned toAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where Barton was wrestling as a full-time competitor during Williams's absence. On the January 17, 2000, edition of AJPW TV, Williams defeated Barton unexpectedly in a match,[15] with the feud continuing for a week in the house show circuit before being postponed.
Thestoryline would resume in the summer of 2000 at a time when Barton was teaming withGiant Kimala andGeorge Hines. Barton and Williams would each win against each other on various TV episodes and house shows in 50/50 booking.[16] In the late summer and fall of 2000, Barton and Williams found themselves in an uneasy alliance where they both had a common enemy inToshiaki Kawada, who was often defeating both Barton and Williams at the time on TV, as well as a common enemy withGenichiro Tenryu. Barton would ultimately defeat Kawada in tag-team action, but come short against Tenryu in the first round of the Triple Crown Tournament.[17]
In December 2000, the storyline animosity between Barton and Williams resumed, where Williams crossed paths with Barton in a tag-team television match during theWorld's Strongest Tag Determination League 2000 tournament. They were on opposite teams and Williams sought to get even with Barton for his loss in the Brawl For All in a definitive match in theTokyo Dome.[18]
The feud with Williams would culminate into a revenge match on a January 28, 2001, pay-per-view main event, which Williams won.[19] After this, Barton and Williams would regularly wrestle against each other throughout the first half of 2001, before the two would eventually team with each other later that year in October.Jim Steele andMike Rotunda would join them in three-way or four-way tag team matches whenever the need arose.[20]
By late 2001, Williams would be a friend of Bart Gunn, often being by his side and taking part in both backstage and in-ring skits, as well as Williams rooting for Barton in his matches. Most notably, in January 2002 the pair celebratedAbdullah The Butcher's birthday together in the ring singing and telling jokes, as well as Williams cheering Barton on when he was facingGenichiro Tenryu in the Champion Carnival 2002 tournament. Barton ultimately defeated Tenryu, bragging backstage to the camera about his win, where Williams was happy for Barton and they fist pumped each other shouting in excitement.[21][22]
Following the NOAH exodus, Barton formed a newtag team withJim Steele. In October 2000, Barton entered a tournament for the vacantTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship, losing in the first round toGenichiro Tenryu.[14] In November, Barton and Steele entered the 2000 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing in 4th place with 10 points.[23]
On January 2, 2001, Barton won the annual January 2 Korakuen Hall Battle Royal.[14] In the spring, Barton entered the 2001 Champion Carnival, placing 5th with 13 points.[14] By the end of 2001, Barton had begun making appearances inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling as a member of the All Japan branch ofTeam 2000. In November 2001, Barton and Steele entered the 2001 G1 Tag League and made it to the finals, where they lost toTencozy.[24]
In the spring of 2002, Barton entered the 2002 Champion Carnival, making it to the finals but losing toKeiji Mutoh.[25] On July 20, Barton and Steele won The Stan Hansen Cup Four Way againstThe Varsity Club,KroniK, andGeorge Hines &Johnny Smith.[26] On August 30, Barton and Steele challenged Kronik for the World Tag Team Championship, but lost.[26] In the fall, Barton and Steele left All Japan. Their last match in AJPW was on October 27, 2002, where they teamed with George Hines to defeat Arashi, Nobukazu Hirai & Nobutaka Araya.[27]
Polchlopek had a short stint inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003 only lasting a month where he wrestled one match where he lost toPerry Saturn.
After leaving All Japan, Barton and Steele signed withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Barton entered the 2002 New Japan Triathlon Series in November, teaming with Steele andYuji Nagata. The team made it to the finals, but lost toManabu Nakanishi,Osamu Nishimura andYutaka Yoshie.[28] In February 2003, Barton and Steele entered a #1 Contenders tournament for theIWGP Tag Team Championship. They ultimately emerged victorious, defeatingMakai Club membersTadao Yasuda andKazunari Murakami in the finals, but an injury to Steele prevented them from getting the title match.[29] After Steele recovered, he and Barton returned to teaming. In October 2003, they entered the 2003 G1 Tag League. During the tournament, on October 21, the two received a shot at the IWGP Tag Team Title against championsHiroshi Tanahashi and Yutaka Yoshie, but came up short.[30] Barton and Steele finished the tournament in 5th place with 6 points.[14]
On September 15, 2006, Barton had his debut match inMuga World Pro Wrestling, which was a victory overTatsutoshi Goto, then had another 4 matches in the company. His last match in the company was a victory overKatsushi Takemura on September 25, 2006. Afterwards, Barton left the company.
Wrestling as Mike Barton, he and Jim Steele would wrestle two tryout matches forWorld Wrestling Entertainment in December 2003, which were dark matches that never aired on television. They won both matches, although ultimately neither ended up signing with the WWE.[31]
Polchlopek returned to the WWE as Bart Gunn for the December 10, 2007, edition ofRaw, where he participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal. He was eliminated from the match bySteve Blackman. Afterwards, he retired from professional wrestling.
Polchlopek made hismixed martial arts debut againstUFC veteranWesley Correira atRumble On The Rock: Beatdown on June 17, 2006. He won his debut via TKO after the ringside doctor determined Correira was unable to continue fighting after suffering a large cut.
In his second and final fight, on November 5, 2006, he facedIkuhisa Minowa atPRIDE Bushido 13, losing via unanimous decision.
| 2 matches | 1 win | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1–1 | Ikuhisa Minowa | Decision (unanimous) | Pride – Bushido 13 | November 5, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |
| Win | 1–0 | Wesley Correira | TKO (cut) | ROTR – Beatdown 1 | June 17, 2006 | 1 | 1:46 | Hawaii, United States |
Polchlopek was previously an electrician until 1993, and resumed work as an electrician 15 years later, in addition to doing home construction work. He is a father.[1] He currently resides in Orange Beach, Alabama.
,Wrestlingdata.com,Internet Wrestling Database