| Nick Kiniski | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Nicholas Kiniski |
| Born | (1961-08-25)August 25, 1961 (age 63) Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Nick Kiniski |
| Trained by | Gene Kiniski[1] |
| Debut | January 22, 1985 |
| Retired | 1990 |
Nicholas Kiniski (born August 25, 1961) is aCanadian retiredprofessional wrestler.[1] He is best known for his work withWCCW,PNW andAWA and for being one half of the tag team American Force withPaul Diamond inTexas All-Star Wrestling. He and his brother, wrestlerKelly Kiniski, are the sons of former NWA World Heavyweight ChampionGene Kiniski.
Nick Kiniski started wrestling in 1980. He was trained by his father, the legendary "Canada's Greatest Athlete" Gene Kiniski.[1] He wrestled four years on the Canadian National Team and he was an alternate on the1984 Canadian Olympic Team.[2] His pro debut took place in theOklahoma area on January 22, 1985, when he lost toBuck Zumhofe by disqualification when Nick's brother, Kelly Kiniski, interfered.
He first rose to fame inFred Barend'sTexas All-Star Wrestling. He formed a tag team withPaul Diamond calledAmerican Breed.[1] Neither Diamond nor Kiniski were actually American; Diamond was Croatian/Canadian and Kiniski was Canadian, so the team name is quite ironic. The team won theTASW Tag Team Championship from the Maoris (Tudui & Wakahi) on May 25, 1985 and held them untilAl Madril andChavo Guerrero took the titles from them on June 5, 1985. The TASW Tag Team title was vacated later that same month when Chavo Guerrero refused to wrestle in a rematch against Diamond and Kiniski because Chavo’s fatherGory Guerrero was the special referee chosen for the match. Madril teamed up with Black Gorman instead but lost the match. After the match Madril attacked Chavo Guerrero, splitting the team and forcing the titles to be held up. When Chavo later won the rights to name a new championship partner after defeating Madril in a singles match, he chose to give the titles to the American Breed instead, only now the American Breed consisted of Paul Diamond and a rookie namedShawn Michaels. After the formation of the Diamond/Michaels version of American Force, Kiniski left the company in 1986.
Kiniski joinedPortland, Oregon-basedDon Owen'sPacific Northwest Wrestling in 1986. He debuted at thePNW Superstars Extravaganza supershow, where he defeated Timothy Flowers by disqualification. He started feuding withRip Oliver for theNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship but the feud was unsuccessful for Kiniski. He also had a short-lived feud with Danny Collins before leaving PNW.
Kiniski wrestled a few times for the WWF at their frequent Madison Square Garden shows as well as at the Boston Garden, including wins over Steve Lombardi (aka Brooklyn Brawler), Frenchy Martin, Jimmy Jack Funk and Les Thornton in late 1986/early1987.[3] He was featured on WWF's television shows at least once - including a very competitive match against currentWWF Intercontinental ChampionRandy Savage which he only narrowly lost, on the December 27th 1986 edition ofWWF Superstars of Wrestling.
In 2024, Kiniski accused former WWF producerTerry Garvin of having propositioned him for sex in the 1980s, and that his refusal led to Kiniski's termination from the company.[4]
Kiniski joinedAmerican Wrestling Association in late 1986. He formed a heel tag team withKevin Kelly calledThe Perfect Tag Team to contend for theAWA World Tag Team Championship. He and Kelly had actually started wrestling together in the WWF. The duo was managed bySherri Martel. Martel left the AWA in July 1987 and was replaced byMadusa Miceli as the team's manager. They eventually pursued singles careers as Kiniski left the team.
The last promotion where Kiniski wrestled wasWorld Class Championship Wrestling. He started his WCCW stint in 1987 and feuded with theVon Erichs. He used to wrestleKevin andKerry for most of his matches but he had few victories over Kevin and Kerry. He retired from professional wrestling when the promotion closed in 1990 and merged withUnited States Wrestling Association.
After retiring, Kiniski moved to the small town ofPoint Roberts located within an Americanexclave along the Canada-America border. He opened a bar, named Kiniski's reef, and later became a chief in the towns fire department.[5]
,Internet Wrestling Database