| Joe Malenko | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jody Simon[1] |
| Born | (1956-06-04)June 4, 1956 (age 68)[2] Tampa, Florida,U.S.[2] |
| Family | Boris Malenko (father)[2] Dean Malenko (brother)[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Joe Malenko[3] Joe Solkoff[3] Karl Gotch Jr.[3] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg)[3] |
| Trained by | Boris Malenko[3] Karl Gotch[3] |
| Debut | 1977[3][2] |
| Retired | 2017 |
Jody Simon (born June 4, 1956) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler, better known by hisring nameJoe Malenko. He is the son ofBoris Malenko and the older brother ofDean Malenko.[1][2][3]
Malenko wrestled as Karl Gotch Jr. in Mexico'sUniversal Wrestling Association in August 1978.[4]
Malenko is most known for his stints wrestling in Japan. Malenko began in theUniversal Wrestling Federation (Japan) in May 1985 for 13 days. One of his most well known matches in the UWF was his tag match withSuper Tiger where they faced the team ofYoshiaki Fujiwara andOsamu Kido.
Malenko would then team up with his brother, Dean, inAll Japan Pro Wrestling to form "The Malenko Brothers". Malenko would tour regularly with All Japan from February 1988 until May 1992. Malenko had two reigns asWorld Junior Heavyweight Champion.[5] From late 1989 to early 1990, he teamed withKenta Kobashi against the Can-Am Express (Dan Kroffat andDoug Furnas) for theAll Asia Tag Team Championship. Joe's most memorable matches came in his match versus his brother, Dean and when they (the Malenko Brothers) facedThe British Bruisers (Johnny Smith andDynamite Kid) duringGiant Baba's 30thWrestling Anniversary on September 30, 1990. Joe and Dean's only chance for the All Asia Tag Team Championship was against the Can-Am Express on March 4, 1992, inTokyo,Japan.
Then Malenko worked forPro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi from 1993 to 1994 andUWF International in 1995. He also worked forNew Japan Pro Wrestling andBattlarts until his last match in Japan in 1999.
Malenko made an appearance inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1992, during theClash of the Champions XIX. He teamed with his brother to take on the team ofNikita Koloff andRicky Steamboat in the first round of a tournament held for theNWA World Tag Team Titles. "The Malenko Brothers" came up short.[6] Next Joe and Dean travelled toPuerto Rico to take part in theWorld Wrestling Council's 19th Anniversary show. They were defeated bySteve Doll andRex King, who at the time held theWWC World Tag Team Championship.[7]
Malenko made his first appearance inExtreme Championship Wrestling on November 18, 1994. He once again teamed up with his brother, Dean, to take on the team ofSabu and theTazmaniac, but lost. Dean continued to work ECW, but Joe mainly worked for ECW when they toured inFlorida. He worked ECW's first run of Florida shows in 1995 againstStevie Richards andOsamu Nishimura, wrestling to a draw against both.[8][9] When ECW returned to Florida in May, Malenko was once again featured on the opening matches of the card. On May 5, 1995. Malenko defeated local Florida indy wrestler, and acquaintance from his father's wrestling school,Soulman Alex G. The next night in Tampa, Malenko defeated Miguel San Juan.
On the May 11, 1998 edition ofWCW Monday Nitro, Joe Malenko came out and confrontedChris Jericho, who had been in a feud with Dean for weeks. However, the confrontation led to an attack by Jericho in Joe Malenko's only appearance onNitro.
He wrestled his last match on September 19, 2000, againstGreg Valentine in a no-contest in Tampa, Florida.
On October 25, 2010, it was announced that Malenko would be participating inAll Japan Pro Wrestling'sWorld's Strongest Tag Determination League in November and December 2010 with partnerOsamu Nishimura. The duo won twice and drew once in their eight matches in the tournament, finishing eighth out of nine in the final standings.
Simon retired from professional wrestling on December 7, 2010.[3]
On June 24, 2012, Malenko came out of retirement and defeated Kennedy Kendrick in Riverview, Florida.
His last match was on September 26, 2017, in a tag team match withBob Cook defeating Taino and The Puerto Rican Hound Dog.
He works as a pharmacist in Tampa, Florida.[11]
1978
,Internet Wrestling Database