 Zukhov in 1986 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Kirk Harrell (1959-01-29)January 29, 1959 (age 66) Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Boris Zhukov[1] Boris Zurhkov[2] Jason[2] Jim Nelson[2] Mr. Russia[2] Private Jim Nelson[1][3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 254 lb (115 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Soviet Union Siberia |
| Trained by | Don Hogan[2] Steve Savage[2] |
| Debut | May 18, 1978[2] |
| Retired | 2012 |
Boris Zhukov (born James Kirk Harrell; January 29, 1959) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) and theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) under thering nameBoris Zhukov, as well as his appearances withJim Crockett Promotions asPrivate Jim Nelson.
Inspired by hisNorthside High Schoolfootball coach and hope to become a pro wrestler, 160-pound wide receiver and defensive halfback Harrell became interested in gaining mass in his senior year, 1977. While exercising at aYMCA, he met Ric McCord, who introduced him to Don Hogan and Steve Savage, two wrestlers fromSalem, Virginia who trained him. After wrestling in Virginia in a tag team, Harrell moved toAtlanta, Georgia. In his first big match, the 210-pound Harrell (now called Jim Nelson) teamed with Mike Stallings to lose toIvan Koloff andOle Anderson.[4]
Harrell debuted inJim Crockett Promotions in August 1980, wrestling as "Jim Nelson". In December 1981, Harrell adopted the name "Private Jim Nelson" and joinedSgt. Slaughter's villainous "Cobra Corps". He formed a tag team with fellow Corps memberDon Kernodle. In May 1982, Nelson and Kernodle defeatedJay Youngblood andPorkchop Cash to win theNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship. The team lost the title to Cash andIceman Parsons in June, but regained it, later that month. The teams second reign lasted until August 1982 when they lost to Youngblood andRicky Steamboat. In early 1983, Harrell left the Cobra Corps and began feuding with Slaughter and Kernodle, losing to Kernodle in a series of "boot camp matches" in April and May. He left Jim Crockett Promotions in May 1983.[5][6]
In May 1983, Harrell joined theLouisiana-basedMid-South Wrestling promotion as "Boris Zurhkov". This is where he became a "Russian", shaved his head and grew a beard. He left the promotion in September 1983.[7]
In August 1983, Harrell began wrestling for theDallas,Texas-basedWorld Class Championship Wrestling promotion. He adopted the character of "Boris Zurkov", a mercenary hired bySkandor Akbar to faceBruiser Brody. He left the promotion in December 1983.[8]
In January 1984, Harrell debuted in theBirmingham, Alabama-basedSoutheastern Championship Wrestling promotion as "Boris Zhukov". He feuded with wrestlers includingJacques Rougeau,Jimmy Golden, andRick McGraw. In August 1984, Harrell defeated McGraw for theNWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship. He lost the title toPorkchop Cash the following month. He left the promotion in October 1984.[9]
Harrell returned to the promotion the following March, this time wrestling under amask as "Mr. Russia". He left the next month after losing amask versus maskLights Out match toMr. Olympia.[9]
In April 1985, Harrell debuted in theMinneapolis, Minnesota-basedAmerican Wrestling Association as "Boris Zukhov", adoptingChris Markoff as hismanager. During 1985, he unsuccessfully challengedAWA World Heavyweight ChampionRick Martel andAWA America's Champion Sgt. Slaughter.
In early 1986, Harrell formed a tag team withNord the Barbarian. The duo occasionally teamed with other foreign heels such asThe Mongolian Stomper andAdnan Al-Kaissie. After the tag team dissolved in August 1986, Harrell unsuccessfully challenged AWA World Heavyweight ChampionNick Bockwinkel on several occasions.
In April 1987, Harrell formed another tag team withSoldat Ustinov, winning a tag team tournament. The following month, they defeatedThe Midnight Rockers for theAWA World Tag Team Championship. In September 1987, Harrell left the AWA to join theWorld Wrestling Federation, with the explanation given being thatWahoo McDaniel had driven him out of the promotion after a brutalchain match.[10][11][12]
Harrell debuted in theWorld Wrestling Federation in October 1987, once again performing as "Boris Zhukov". In fact, he legally changed his name to Boris Zhukov at this time in order to retain the legal rights to the name.[13] He formed a villainoustag team with fellow pseudo-RussianNikolai Volkoff (whose previous tag partnerThe Iron Sheik had just been fired by the WWF) known as "The Bolsheviks".[14] Over the following 15 months, The Bolsheviks competed against teams such asThe British Bulldogs,The Killer Bees,The Powers of Pain,The Rougeau Brothers, andThe Young Stallions. Both men entered the1988 Royal Rumble, which was won byJim Duggan. In October 1988, Zhukov took part in theKing of the Ring tournament, losing toMike Sharpe in the first round.[15] That same month the Bolsheviks unsuccessfully challenged fellow heelsDemolition for theWWF World Tag Team Championship in a match, later released on a Demolition VHS compilation, where the crowds cheered Demolition who turned babyface a month later at the Survivor Series after teaming with the Bolsheviks.[16][17]
The Bolsheviks separated in early 1989 after Volkoff temporarily departed the WWF, with Zhukov competing as a single wrestler. His regular opponents includedPaul Roma,Ronnie Garvin, andTim Horner. In September 1989, Volkoff returned to the WWF and reformed their tag team. In December 1989, The Bolsheviks began a lengthy series of matches withThe Bushwhackers.[15] AtWrestleMania VI in April 1990, The Bolsheviks lost toThe Hart Foundation in asquash.[18] and days later again failed to capture the World tag team title from Demolition in another squash.[19]
The Bolsheviks permanently disbanded in May 1990 after a further crushing defeat by the Rockers, with Volkoffturningface by embracing America andfeuding with Zhukov.[3] After the feud ended in August 1990, Zhukov facedKoko B. Ware in a series of matches. AtSurvivor Series 1990, Zhukov teamed with his former Cobra Corps partnerSgt. Slaughter plus "The Orient Express" (Sato, andTanaka) as "The Mercenaries", losing to "The Alliance" (Volkoff, The Bushwhackers, andTito Santana).[15]
Zhukov left the WWF in February 1991.[15]
In January 1991, Harrell made a brief tour of Japan with theSuper World of Sports promotion.[20]
In April 1991, Harrell began wrestling for theUniversal Wrestling Federation in Florida and New York. He made his final appearance in June 1991 at theBeach Brawlpay-per-view inPalmetto, Florida, defeating Paul Samson.[21]
After leaving the UWF, Harrell wrestled sporadically over the following decade. He formally retired in 2001.
In 2007, Zhukov resurfaced as aheel in Virginia-based promotion American Championship Wrestling (ACW) and allied with local heel Eclipso. He was attacked and injured, leading to aface turn and a "Wrestle or Retire" match on September 8 for Eclipso's ACW Championship. Before the match, Zhukov told the crowd he was retiring, but a replacement had been chosen. Later that night, his old persona, Pvt. Jim Nelson (who had not been seen since an assault by Jack & Gerry Brisco in 1983) was revealed as that replacement. Now clean-shaven and dressed in army camouflage, he'd redone Sgt. Slaughter's boot camp and was promoted to Sgt. Jim Nelson in apre-match ceremony. Nelson won the match and title after interference from both managers. Due to the controversy, the title was held up.[22]
Zhukov last match was on October 6, 2012, losing to Colonel Spud Wade.[23]
In July 2016, Zhukov was named part of aclass actionlawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[24] The lawsuit was dismissed by US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant in September 2018.[25]
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