 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dwight Douglas Furnas[3] (1959-12-11)December 11, 1959 Commerce, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | February 2012 (aged 52)[2] Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Atherosclerotic andhypertensive heart disease |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Doug Furnas Can-Am Express #1 |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 243 lb (110 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Davey Rich Johnny Rich Rick Conners |
| Debut | 1986[1] |
| Retired | 2000 |
Dwight Douglas Furnas (December 11, 1959 – February 2012)[4][5] was an Americanprofessional wrestler andpowerlifter. He was an APF National and World Powerlifting Champion, who set multiple world records in the 275 pounds (125 kg) weight class. As a wrestler, Furnas worked for, among other promotions, American majorsWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW),Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), andWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) best known for being part of the tag teamThe Can-Am Express with tag team partnerPhil Lafon. Furnas was also a longtime mainstay ofAll Japan Pro Wrestling.
Before becoming a lifter, Furnas was a promisingAmerican football player. He attended Commerce High School inCommerce, Oklahoma, winning a state championship in football before helping theNortheastern Oklahoma A&M Norsemen to aNJCAA National Football Championship.[6] Later, he transferred to play for theTennessee Volunteers; herushed for 630 yards and twotouchdowns in two seasons as arunning back at Tennessee.[7] Furnas signed with theDenver Broncos of theNational Football League (NFL),[8] but injuries in training camp caused him to retire from football.[6][9] Upon starting powerlifting, Furnas initially campaigned as a 242 pounds (110 kg) lifter. At a height of 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) he was actually a bit too tall for the weight class. His 242-pound class competitors tended to be in the 5'6" to 5'8" range. When Furnas allowed his bodyweight to rise to a full 275 pounds, he became the third man in history to total 2400 (afterDon Reinhoudt andBill Kazmaier) and the first man ever to total 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg) twice - all achieved at an astonishing 265-275 pound bodyweight.[6] The first time, he totaled 2400 pounds at the inaugural APF World Championships 1986 inMaui,Hawaii, squatting 986 pounds (447 kg) in an old squat suit, bench pressing 600 pounds (270 kg) in a loose US size 60bench shirt and deadlifting 814 pounds (369 kg).[6]
He achieved his second 2400+ total six months later on June 28, 1987, at the APF National Championships inBloomington, Minnesota with a total of 2403 lbs (1090 kg) while competing in the 125 kg/275 lb weight class.[10] This time deadlifting 826 lbs for a new personal record.[6] Although he was arguably the most dominant 275 pound lifter in history, he ended his very short but incredible powerlifting career shortly afterwards in favor of professional wrestling.[6] Furnas had set 29 powerlifting world records throughout his career.[4] Furnas is known throughout the powerlifting world as one of the greatest squat technicians in history, eventually squatting 986 pounds (447 kg).[11] Although it was not widely known during his lifetime, Furnas was allergic tochalk, which prevented him from obtaining an optimal grip on his deadlifts.[12] Furnas still holds the men's collegiate national records in thesquat (400 kg/881.75 lb) anddeadlift (347.5 kg/766 lb) in the 110 kg / 242 lb weight class, which he set on March 26, 1983, while attending theUniversity of Tennessee.[13] He also holds the Tennessee state records for the squat (986 lb), deadlift (826 lb), and total (2403 lbs).
Done in official Powerlifting full meets with minimal supportive gear[6]
Furnas began his career inContinental Championship Wrestling in late 1986, as a "guest" of the promotion during a card at the civic center in Knoxville, Tennessee. He watched promoter Bob Polk get assaulted byKevin Sullivan, then the manager for the New Guinea Headhunters, until he could bear no more, and injected himself into the situation, effectively beginning his pro wrestling career.
During his run in Continental, Furnas feuded with Sullivan,Buddy Landell, andSid Eudy's version ofLord Humongous, as well asTerry Gordy. In late 1989, Continental folded, and by that time, Furnas had left to spend time inAll Japan Pro Wrestling andWorld Championship Wrestling.
While not appearing in Japan, Doug Furnas joinedWorld Championship Wrestling, making his debut on January 31, 1990 on the February 3rd edition ofNWA World Championship Wrestling by defeating The Galaxian #1 (Nightmare Danny Davis). At the same taping he would also defeat Galaxian #2 (Ken Wayne). Furnas followed this by defeatingJack Victory on the February 17th edition of the program, then went back for another All Japan tour.
On May 19 he returned at theCapitol Combat PPV, where he was interviewed byTony Schiavone regarding the condition ofLex Luger. He made his house show debut three days later, defeatingThe Samoan Savage (Tama) in Ozark, AL. On the June 2nd edition ofNWA Pro Furnas defeatedCactus Jack, and would later defeat Jack in several house show matches.
As the summer began the undefeated Furnas became a member of aSting-led group offan favorites known as the "Dudes With Attitudes" as they feuded with the perennially dominantFour Horsemen stable, led byNWA World Heavyweight ChampionRic Flair. Furnas' involvement in the stable saw him face the newly arrivedBarry Windham atClash of the Champions XI on June 13, 1990, where he sustained his first defeat.
He rebounded 11 days later, teaming withThe Junkyard Dog to defeatNWA World Heavyweight ChampionRic Flair andNWA Television ChampionArn Anderson at a house show in Chattanooga, TN. On July 7 he made his PPV debut, defeatingDutch Mantell atGreat American Bash 90 in Baltimore, MD. Following several additional house show wins against Mantell, Furnas was defeated by the newly returnedBam Bam Bigelow at the Omni in Atlanta, GA on July 15.
On the August 4th edition ofNWA World Championship Wrestling,Brad Armstrong announced he had formed a team with Furnas and the duo would soon be challengingNWA United States Tag-Team ChampionsThe Midnight Express. This partnership would ultimately not take place as Armstrong reformed hisLightning Express tag-team with Tim Horner. Instead Furnas engaged in a brief house show series with "Mean"Mark Callous (the future WWEUndertaker). His final match came on August 5 in Norfolk, VA in a defeat to Callous.[14]
InAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Furnas teamed withDan Kroffat beginning in 1989. Together they formed The Can-Am Express. Furnas and Kroffat held theAll Asia Tag Team Championship five times between June 1989 and September 1993 when they vacated the title so they could focus on theWorld Tag Team Championship.[15][16] Their title match on May 25, 1992, againstKenta Kobashi andTsuyoshi Kikuchi received five stars from theWrestling Observer Newsletter and was also named "Match of the Year".
Also in 1992, the duo wrestled for Mexico'sUniversal Wrestling Association (UWA) as The Can-Am Connection. In Mexico, they held theUWA World Tag Team Championship twice, trading it with Los Villanos (Villano IV andVillano V).
The duo joinedExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in mid 1996; Furnas made his in-ring debut in a losing effort againstRob Van Dam on August 24, 1996 after being revealed as a mystery opponent for the latter. On September 13 he was joined by LaFon and the duo defeatedMikey Whipwreck andLouie Spicolli. On October 26 the duo was defeated bySabu and Rob Van Dam in Philadelphia, PA.[17]
A few months later, both men made theirWorld Wrestling Federation debuts on November 17, 1996, at theSurvivor Series pay-per-view. They feuded withOwen Hart and the British Bulldog and defeated them by disqualification atIn Your House 13: Final Four but never captured the WWF World Tag Team titles. In the summer of 1997, Furnas and LaFon were in a car accident which kept them out of action for several months. They returned to WWF that fall where they appeared atSurvivor Series (1997) teaming withJim Neidhart andBritish Bulldog as Team Canada against Team USA:Vader,Goldust,Marc Mero andSteve Blackman. Furnas was able to eliminate Mero before he was eliminated by Vader. Bulldog would be the sole survivor. After Survivor Series, Furnas and LaFon would make a few more appearances mostly on Shotgun Saturday Night with one match being against the then-unknownHardy Boyz before returning to ECW.
After failing to getover in WWF, they returned to ECW in late 1997, where they formed a stable of "invaders" from the WWF with Lance Wright,Brakkus andDroz.[18][19][20][21] They won theECW World Tag Team Title on December 5 from theF.B.I.[22] Their reign would not last long, however, as they lost the belts toChris Candido andLance Storm the next day atBetter Than Ever. Furnas went on wrestleMasato Tanaka in singles competition atLiving Dangerously on March 1, 1998. Furnas came up on the losing end on this particular occasion. He also became one of Rob Van Dam's many unsuccessful challengers during Van Dam's record breaking ECW Television Championship run.[22]
Upon retiring, Furnas and his wife ran a group home in San Diego for abused boys. He would also raise bucking stock rodeo bulls in his family's farm.
Furnas's body was discovered on March 3, 2012, at his home in Tucson, Arizona; the precise date of his death could not be estimated by the medical examiner because of decomposition, but is presumed to have been sometime in February.[5][23] He was 52 years old.[4] The official cause of death was atherosclerotic andhypertensive heart disease.[24] He had been battlingParkinson's disease for many years prior to his death.[25] His death was confirmed by one of his sisters.[5]
,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database