 Koloff,c. 1972 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Oreal Donald Perras[2] (1942-08-25)August 25, 1942[1][2] Montreal, Canada |
| Died | February 18, 2017(2017-02-18) (aged 74) |
| Cause of death | Liver cancer |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Ivan Koloff[1][2] Jim Parris[3] Orwell Paris Red McNulty[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[4] |
| Billed weight | 298 lb (135 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | Moscow, Russia[4] Ukraine |
| Trained by | Jack Wentworth Dan Koloff |
| Debut | February 15, 1963[5] |
| Retired | November 16, 2013[3] |
Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadianprofessional wrestler, better known by thering name "the Russian Bear"Ivan Koloff, under which name he was billed as being from Russia and, following thedissolution of the Soviet Union,Ukraine. He was the third wrestler to hold theWWWF Championship.[2][6][1] In April 2025, it was announced that Koloff would be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame.
Perras was born inMontreal, Canada and raised on adairy farm in rural Ontario along with his six brothers and three sisters.[7]
Since first watchingprofessional wrestling on TV at the age of eight, he wanted to become a wrestler, and would often wrestle with his brothers growing up. At age 18, he left high school and joined Jack Wentworth's wrestling school inHamilton, Ontario, where he would lift weights and learn wrestling holds.[8]
Perras debuted as an Irish roguevillaincharacter named Red McNulty, billed fromDublin, Ireland, and wrestling with aneyepatch.[1] For the next three years, he wrestled around theToronto area, eventually quitting his regular job to wrestle in the north-western area of Canada. There, Perras acquired much wrestling experience, and from there he made his first trip to Japan.
In 1967, Perras became "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, a bearded villainous character billed fromUkraine (the name was taken fromDan Kolov, an actual Bulgarian wrestler who had competed in Canada in the 1930s), and debuted with the International Wrestling Association inMontreal. He defeatedJohnny Rougeau for the IWA International Heavyweight Championship the following year. Koloff debuted in theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation in late 1969, managed by"Captain" Lou Albano.[9] He soon started arivalry with then-WWWF World Heavyweight ChampionBruno Sammartino. On January 18, 1971, Koloff defeated Sammartino in Madison Square Garden for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship bypinfall after aknee drop from the top rope, ending Sammartino's seven and two-thirds years reign.[10][11][12] Koloff lost thechampionship 21 days later toPedro Morales,[13] essentially being used as a "transitional champion" to move the title from Sammartino to Morales without the two fan favorites working against each other, much likeStan Stasiak andThe Iron Sheik would be in later years. After the loss, Koloff remained a contender for the title but never reclaimed it, leaving the WWWF in 1971.[14] During his time in the WWWF, Koloff weighing in at 310 pounds (140 kg) wrestled WWWF World Heavyweight Championship title matches against Sammartino, Morales,Superstar Billy Graham andBob Backlund, holding the distinction, with fellow villain Stan Stasiak, as one of only two men to challenge all four of these champions.[15] Koloff would also challenge Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in the first eversteel cage match atMadison Square Garden in a rematch loss on December 15, 1975. He fought in the WWWF from 1975 to 1976, 1978–1979 and 1983.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Koloff found success in theNational Wrestling Alliance, winning many regionaltag team and singles titles in the Georgia, Florida, and Mid-Atlantic territories. In February 1981, heteamed withRay Stevens to defeatPaul Jones andMasked Superstar to capture theNWA World Tag Team Championship. This would be the first of his four reigns as NWA World Tag Team Champion, later winning the belts withDon Kernodle and twice with Russian sympathizer,Krusher Kruschev, and his "nephew" (kayfabe),Nikita Koloff asThe Russian Team using the "Freebird Rule".
In April and May 1973, Koloff wrestled in Japan for theInternational Wrestling Enterprise promotion as part of its Dynamite Series. In his debut match, he teamed withMad Dog Vachon to defeat Great Kusatsu andStrong Kobayashi for theIWA World Tag Team Championship in atwo-out-of-three falls match. They lost the titles to Great Kusatsu andRusher Kimura several weeks later.[16]
The Russians (which also includedKrusher Kruschev) were a top villainousgroup from 1984 to 1986, and Nikita, under Perras' training and mentoring, and by association, became a hated villain in his own right, and would go on to have a successful singles career of his own. After Nikitaturned on Ivan to join their enemyDusty Rhodes in 1986, the latter teamed withVladimir Petrov andDick Murdoch to get revenge. Koloff's biggest NWA feuds were against Rhodes,The Road Warriors,The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton andRobert Gibson) andMagnum T. A. In 1988, Koloff spent time inPaul Jones' faction, The Paul Jones Army, where he was a "coach" of sorts forThe Powers of Pain,The Barbarian andThe Warlord. He later split with Jones, reunited with Nikita, and feuded with Jones' team, The Russian Assassins, before leavingJim Crockett Promotions in January 1989. In 1992, Koloff also wrestled in the first television main event ofJim Cornette'sSmoky Mountain Wrestling, beatingBobby Fulton. He lost toRon Garvin at Tim Horner's National Championship Wrestling on July 22, 1994. He retired afterwards.
He also spent time inEastern Championship Wrestling,[9] appearing on the very first ECW card in 1992. In 1993 he began teaming with his storyline nephewVladimir Koloff. The team won their debut match on the June 29 edition ofECW Hardcore TV. Koloff defeatedThe Sandman on the July 6, 1993, episode ofECW Hardcore TV in a number one contenders match for theECW Heavyweight Championship.[17]
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In 2004, Koloff returned to the ring for the first time in 10 years. He wrestled in theindependent circuit. On August 27, 2005, Koloff defeatedDominic DeNucci in a Russian chain match atWrestleReunion. Koloff would win his final wrestling title defeatingThe Barbarian in a Russian chain match for the Legends title at NWA Charlotte. On July 19, 2013, Koloff lost toShane Douglas in an Extreme Rules match at Mega Pro. His final match was againstBob Armstrong in which Armstrong won on November 16, 2013, at Superstars of Wrestling 1 inRome, Georgia. Koloff stood around 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall, and weighed approximately 300 pounds (140 kg) when he was at the peak of his career as a wrestler but Towards the end of his career, he dropped a considerable amount of weight and was tipping the scale at 205 pounds (93 kg).[18]
Perras wrote a book titledIs That Wrestling Fake? The Bear Facts that was released on January 1, 2007. He became aborn-again Christian in 1995[19] and traveled to churches to share his testimony as an ordained minister.[1] Koloff spoke openly and candidly of his conversion to Christianity and struggles withalcohol anddrugs and the crazy days of wrestling in his 2014 book,Life in the Trenches.[20] Perras was named as a defendant in a 2015lawsuit filed by WWE after they received a letter from him indicating that he intended to sue them for concussion-based injuries sustained during his tenure with them. He was represented by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who is involved in several other lawsuits involving former WWE wrestlers. The lawsuit was dismissed in September 2018.[21]
His daughter Rachel Marley is a singer.[22]
Perras died at his home inWinterville, North Carolina, on February 18, 2017, fromliver cancer.[23]
Koloff is featured as a playable character in the video gamesLegends of Wrestling,Legends of Wrestling II andShowdown: Legends of Wrestling.
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database