 Malenko in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dean Shelly Simon (1960-08-04)August 4, 1960 (age 65)[3][5] Irvington, New Jersey, U.S. |
Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Boris Malenko (father) Joe Malenko (older brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Ciclope[1] Dean Malenko Dean Sarcoff |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 212 lb (96 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Tampa, Florida[2] |
| Trained by | Boris Malenko[2][3] |
| Debut | February 18, 1985[4] |
| Retired | December 11, 2001 |
Dean Shelly Simon[6] (born August 4, 1960), better known by thering nameDean Malenko, is an American retiredprofessional wrestler.[7] He is signed withAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer.[8] He is best known for his time inWorld Championship Wrestling as a wrestler andWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as a wrestler and aroad agent andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).[2]
Although never aworld 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 theHardcore 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 championBryan 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.
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Malenko was born into a wrestling family, and his fatherBoris Malenko was a prominent wrestling figure. He started out as a referee in theTampa area and even worked briefly as a referee for theWWF in the mid-1980s. He has wrestled all over the world and has spent much time wrestling in Mexico and Japan. He wrestled with his brotherJoe Malenko from 1988 to 1992, forming atag team working in Puerto Rico, Japan, and Australia until his brother retired. On January 24, 1992, Malenko defeated "The Superstar" for the Suncoast Pro Wrestling (SPW) Southern title inPalmetto, Florida. Malenko defeatedJimmy Backlund for the ICWA Light Heavyweight title on March 12, 1992, in Tampa. Then, Malenko teamed with his brother losing toRicky Steamboat andNikita Koloff atClash of the Champions XIX.
On August 27, 1994, Malenko debuted inEastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) as aheel participating ina professional wrestling tournament for the vacantNWA World Heavyweight Championship. He defeatedOsamu Nishimura in the quarterfinals before he ended up losing to the eventual winnerShane Douglas in the semifinals.[12][13] Malenko became known as "TheShooter" and was given agimmick similar to anUltimate Fighting Championship fighter (due to his resemblance toRoyce Gracie). On November 4, 1994, he defeated2 Cold Scorpio to win his firstECW Television Championship.[14][15]
In the beginning of 1995, Malenko formed afaction called theTriple Threat withChris Benoit andShane Douglas.[16] On February 25, 1995, atReturn of the Funker, Benoit and Malenko defeatedSabu andTazmaniac for theECW Tag Team Championship, making Malenko a double champion.[17][18] A month later atExtreme Warfare, Malenkodropped the Television title to2 Cold Scorpio.[19] On April 8 atThree Way Dance, he and Benoit lost the tag titles toThe Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge andRocco Rock).[20]
In the summer of 1995, Malenkofeuded with TV ChampionEddie Guerrero, culminating in a match on July 21 where Malenko defeated Guerrero to win his second ECW Television Championship.[14][21] Only a week later, Malenko dropped the title back to Guerrero.[22] The two continued to battle over the Television Title and fought a series of matches that led to them being offered a WCW contract.[5] His last ECW match was atwo 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.[5]
In September 1995, Malenko and Benoit joinedWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he continued to be avillain. Malenko came to be known in WCW as "The Iceman" Dean Malenko because of his cold, calculating demeanor and was also given the nickname of "The Man of 1,000 Holds".[5] On May 2, 1996, Malenko defeatedShinjiro Otani for theWCW Cruiserweight Championship inOrlando.[24] He held the title for two months, making successful defenses against the likes ofBrad Armstrong,[25]Rey Mysterio Jr.[26] andDisco Inferno[27] before losing the title to Mysterio on the July, 8 edition ofNitro.[28] He defeated Mysterio Jr. for his second WCW Cruiserweight Championship atHalloween Havoc 1996.[24][29]
After a successful title defense againstPsychosis atWorld War 3,[30] Malenko lost the Cruiserweight title toUltimate Dragon (Último Dragón) atStarrcade 1996 where Dragón'sJ-Crown Championship was also on the line.[31] Malenko defeated Dragón on the January 22, 1997Clash of the Champions XXXIV to win his third WCW Cruiserweight Championship.[24][32] He would hold the belt for nearly a month before losing it toSyxx atSuperBrawl VII.[33] Malenko lost the match afterEddie Guerrero inadvertently caused Malenko to be hit with Guerrero'sUnited 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 atUncensored the next month and interference from Syxx played a role again. The Cruiserweight Champion again tried to take Guerrero's title, but in the process dropped the camcorder he carried to the ring with him. After Guerrero took the belt back, Malenko hit him in the back of the head with the camcorder and knocked the champion out, enabling him to pin Guerrero and win his first United States Championship.[28] He retained the belt atSlamboree on May 18, 1997, by defeatingJeff Jarrett, but lost the title to him on the June 9, 1997, episode ofNitro. AtWorld War 3, Malenko participated in a60-man, three-ring battle royal won byThe Giant.[35] AtStarrcade 1997, he challenged Guerrero for the Cruiserweight Title but ended up losing the match.[36]
In mid-1998, Malenko engaged in aheatedfeud withChris Jericho. To better Malenko's claims, Jericho boasted that he was "The Man of 1,004 Holds" and the two had a final showdown atUncensored 1998 for the Cruiserweight title. After a long match, Jericho forced Malenko to submit in an angledLiontamer. After the match, the otherwise collected Malenko was left in an unusual fit of frustration.[37]Gene Okerlund then confronted Malenko post-match, aggressively citing his many losses in the past several months and asking where he would go from this point. Dejected and worn down, Malenko replied simply, "Home," and would not be seen on WCW TV for two months.[5] In the ensuing two months, Jericho proceeded to mercilessly taunt Malenko, including insulting Malenko's father and attacking Malenko's brother. AtSlamboree 1998, Jericho held aBattle Royal for a shot at his Cruiserweight Championship. Malenko entered the battle royal dressed asmasked wrestlerCiclope and won the match, afterJuventud Guerrera shook his hand, and eliminated himself. He then unmasked, revealing himself to the crowd following his win. Malenko went on to defeat Jericho for his fourth and final WCW Cruiserweight Championship, thus becoming the first-ever wrestler to win the Cruiserweight title four times.[1][38] Malenko was stripped of the title, however, as he did not earn the title shot as himself.[38] AtThe Great American Bash 1998, Malenko and Jericho faced each other in a match for the vacant Cruiserweight title. Malenko lost bydisqualification, making Jericho the champion.[39] AtBash at the Beach 1998, Malenko interfered in Jericho's title defense againstRey Mysterio Jr. allowing Mysterio to pin Jericho for the title.[40] The title was returned to Jericho, however, because of interference by Malenko.[40] Malenko was fired in storyline, but returned atRoad Wild 1998 as thespecial guest referee during Jericho's defense againstJuventud Guerrera.[41] Juventud won the match and the title.[41]
In September 1998, Malenko became a part of thefinal incarnation ofRic Flair'sFour Horsemenfaction.[42] They feuded with theNew World Order (nWo), particularlyEric Bischoff. Malenko and Benoit also battledThe West Texas Rednecks (Curt Hennig andBarry Windham) during this period. AtSuperBrawl IX, they lost to the Rednecks in the finals of atag team tournament for the vacant World Tag Team Championship.[43][44] AtUncensored 1999, however, they defeated the Rednecks in alumberjack match to win theWCW World Tag Team Championship.[45][46] Two weeks later, they lost the titles toRey Mysterio Jr. andBilly Kidman.[28]
After the Horsemen were finally disbanded in May 1999 due to Flair's abuse of power, Malenko joined up withShane Douglas' faction,The Revolution, which was formed in July 1999.[47] They feuded withDavid Flair,Diamond Dallas Page andChris Kanyon. AtBash at the Beach (1999), Malenko challenged David for the US title but lost the match. They battled many teams throughout the year including West Texas Rednecks,First Family,The Filthy Animals andThe Varsity Club.
Malenko's last WCW match was a "catch-as-catch-can" match withBilly Kidman atSouled Out in January 2000. Early on, Malenko instinctively left the ring to regroup and was disqualified under the match stipulations because his feet hit the arena floor.[48]
After being granted his release from WCW the night after his last WCW match, Malenko signed with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) and debuted during theAttitude Era on January 31, 2000, edition ofRaw Is War. Malenko first appeared in the crowd with the infamousRadicalz – himself,Eddie Guerrero,Chris Benoit, andPerry Saturn – who all made exits from WCW at the same time.[49] While not having as much success in the WWF, Malenko was a force in thepromotion'slight heavyweight division. Along with Guerrero, Benoit, and Saturn, he had some measure of success as part of The Radicalz. On the March 13 edition ofRaw Is War, Malenko defeatedEssa Rios for his firstLight Heavyweight Championship.[50][51] In April 2000, hefeuded withScotty 2 Hotty who was the new challenger for his Light Heavyweight title. Hedropped the title to Scotty on the April 17 edition ofRaw Is War[50] before he won his second WWF Light Heavyweight Championship from Scotty on the April 27 episode ofSmackDown!.[52] AtBacklash 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 withChyna and a number of losses suffered when working as a tag team with Saturn.[49] The feud led to atriple threat match atJudgment Day 2000 where Guerrero retained theWWF European Championship against both Malenko and Saturn.[54] After a brief absence fromTV, Malenko returned to reform The Radicalz with Guerrero, Benoit, and Saturn.[49] Around this time, Malenko briefly became known as "Double Ho Seven", aparody of the fictional character,James Bond. Thegimmick was born out of a match withThe Godfather, who offered one of his female escorts to Malenko instead of wrestling him. Malenko gladly accepted his opponent's offer. As Double Ho Seven, Malenko competed for the affections ofLita and feuded with hertag team theHardy 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 theHardy Boyz andLita continued in early 2001, culminating with Litapinning him (with some assistance fromMatt Hardy) in a match on the February 19, 2001, edition ofRaw Is War.[56] He also briefly feuded withJacqueline andIvory, who were disgusted by his lecherous ways. A title feud withCrash Holly would begin after Crash interfered in a two-on-oneintergenderhandicap 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 theWCW/ECWInvasion storyline began in summer 2001.[57]
Malenko's third-last wrestling match took place at the4th Annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show in August 2001, where he teamed with longtime friendPerry Saturn and defeatedRaven andJustin Credible.[58] That December, he defeated his student,Chad Collyer, by disqualification in the WWF farm promotion, theHeartland Wrestling Association, in what was Malenko's final match.[59] Malenko appeared in the ring along with other WWE alumni duringWWE Raw Homecoming on October 3, 2005.[60]
His close friendEddie Guerrero died on November 13, 2005, and Malenko made a special appearance on the November 14 edition ofRaw alongside Chris Benoit.[61] The following Friday onSmackDown!, Malenko once again appeared after a match betweenChris Benoit andTriple H, and the three embraced.[62] After the2006 Royal Rumble, he was seen congratulatingRey Mysterio on his Rumble victory. AtVengeance: Night of Champions in June 2007, he appeared in a backstage segment watchingChavo Guerrero Jr..[63] The next night on theChris 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]
Malenko next appeared on the March 31, 2008, episode of Raw to joinThe Four Horsemen and other WWE superstars in a farewell tribute to Ric Flair.[65] He made an appearance on the June 28, 2010, episode ofRaw congratulatingRicky Steamboat on his DVD release. He and all the others in the ring were attacked by theNexus.[66] Malenko appeared along the rest of the WWE roster after the April 23, 2012, episode ofRaw to celebrateJohn Cena's 35th birthday. In November 2015, Malenko was inducted into2300 ArenaHardcore Hall of Fame.[67] On the September 11, 2017, episode ofRaw, Malenko made a brief backstage appearance alongsideJamie Noble, where the two were seen as possible choices byRaw Tag Team ChampionsSeth Rollins andDean Ambrose as their partners for an eight-man tag-team match, but were quickly dismissed. On the June 5, 2018, episode ofSmackdown Live, Malenko appeared during the contract signing betweenAJ Styles andShinsuke 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.[69]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]
On May 24, 2019,All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced that Malenko had joined them as asenior producer. Malenko makes occasional on-screen appearances.[71] He made an appearance inPhiladelphia following the October 8, 2021, edition ofRampage whenTony Khan called him out alongsideJerry Lynn,Taz andChris Jericho to thank them for inspiring him.[72]
Simon isJewish.[73] He and his wife Julie have three children.[74] Their eldest, Larrisa, was born December 25, 1997.[75]
Simon had aheart attack in the latter half of 2010, but was back at work bySurvivor 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] In 2019, Simon revealed that he had been diagnosed withParkinson's disease.[78]
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
Dean Malenko beat Osamu Nishimura vis submission. Shane Douglas pinned Dean Malenko
Dean Malenko pinned Too Cold Scorpio to win the ECW TV Title
Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko beat The Tazmaniac & Sabu (10:28) to win the ECW Tag Title when Benoit pinned Sabu
Too Cold Scorpio pinned Dean Malenko (13:34) to win the ECW TV Title
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
Dean Malenko pinned Eddie Guerrero to win the ECW TV Title
Eddie Guerrero pinned Dean Malenko to win the ECW TV Title
Dean Malenko drew Eddie Guerrero in three falls
WCW Cruiserweight Champ Dean Malenko pinned Brad Armstrong (8:29)
WCW Cruiserweight Champ Dean Malenko pinned Rey Mysterio, Jr. (17:50)
WCW Cruiserweight Champ Dean Malenko pinned Dean Malenko (12:04)
Dean Malenko pinned Rey Misterio, Jr. (18:32) to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
WCW Cruiserweight Champ Dean Malenko pinned Psicosis (14:33)
J Crown Champ Ultimate Dragon pinned Dean Malenko (18:30) to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
Dean Malenko beat Ultimate Dragon (15:07) via submission to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
Syxx pinned Dean Malenko (11:57) to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title
Scott Hall won a "three ring battle royal" (29:48)
WCW Cruiserweight Champ Eddie Guerrero pinned Dean Malenko (14:57)
WCW Cruiserweight Champ Chris Jericho beat Dean Malenko (14:42) via submission
Chris Jericho beat Dean Malenko (13:52) via DQ to win the vacant WCW Cruiserweight Title
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
Juventud Guerrera pinned Chris Jericho (16:24) to win the WCW Cruiserweight Title. Dean Malenko was the guest referee
Barry Windham & Curt Hennig beat Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko (1:52) to win the vacant WCW Tag Title when Windham pinned Malenko
Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko beat Curt Hennig & Barry Windham (16:58) to win the WCW Tag Title when Benoit pinned Windham
Billy Kidman beat Dean Malenko (2:36) in a "catch-as-catch-can" match. Malenko lost by touching the floor
Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko def. Scotty 2 Hotty
Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko beat Justin Credible & Raven when Malenko forced Credible to submit
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