| Corporal Kirchner | |
|---|---|
 Kirchner, circa 1988 | |
| Birth name | Michael James Penzel[1][2] |
| Born | (1957-09-07)September 7, 1957 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 22, 2021(2021-12-22) (aged 64) Siler City, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Tina Duke[1] |
| Children | 4[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Axe[3] Colonel Kirchner[3] Corporal Kirchner[4] Freddie Krueger[3] Leatherface[4] RT Reynolds[4] Super Leather[4] Super Leather Face[3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[5] |
| Billed weight | 263 lb (119 kg)[5] |
| Billed from | Fort Bragg,North Carolina (as Corporal Kirchner) Texas (as Leatherface / Super Leather) |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne[4] |
| Debut | 1980[3] |
| Retired | January 26, 2010[6] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Unit | 82nd Airborne Division |
Michael James Penzel (September 7, 1957 – December 22, 2021) was an Americanprofessional wrestler andUnited States Armyparatrooper.[2] He was best known for his appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation under thering nameCorporal Kirchner in the mid-1980s, as well as his appearances in Japan forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling,W*ING,International Wrestling Association Japan, andFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling under the ring nameLeatherface.[7][8]
Penzel was born inChicago, Illinois, on September 7, 1957.[2][3] He enlisted in theUnited States Army as a teenager, becoming aparatrooper in the82nd Airborne Division. He left the Army in his early twenties.[4]
While working as a mechanic andbouncer inMinnesota, Penzel met professional wrestlerHulk Hogan in a gym. Hogan introduced him toAmerican Wrestling AssociationpromoterVerne Gagne, who sent him to hisprofessional wrestling school.[4]
After working as a preliminary wrestler for theWorld Wrestling Federation under the name "RT Reynolds", Penzel was eventually given thecharacter of a military hero after WWF owner/promoterVince McMahon discovered that he had been in the82nd Airborne. Penzel then adopted the ring name "Corporal Kirchner" and used amilitaristic character with several vignettes airing showing him in typical army survival training exercises to help build his character as a patriotic American. He is known for his feud withNikolai Volkoff in theWorld Wrestling Federation in 1986 and into 1987 which included a victory over Volkoff atWrestleMania 2 in a Flag Match; they would trade victories, with Kirchner winning many of the early matches, but Volkoff coming up victorious in most of the matches near the end of the feud. During a pre-Wrestlemania 2 interview withJesse "The Body" Ventura in Ventura's"Body Shop" segment, he talked about his time in the U.S. Army, and even made a reference to Ventura's time as a Navy SEAL, causing Ventura to momentarily break character and agree with him.
He was a member of the WWF's Australian tour in mid-1986 (the WWF's first tour to Australia under Vince McMahon's ownership), wrestling inAdelaide,Brisbane,Melbourne,Perth andSydney, and was considered one of the toughest men in the WWF at the time. He was also considered one of thestiffest wrestlers in the WWF and his career suffered because many wrestlers were reluctant to work with him, and he was subsequently used as enhancement talent. He was suspended by the WWF for testing positive for drug use in July 1987 and when his suspension ended, he declined to return and left the company.
In 2001, Kirchner was announced as a participant in the Gimmick Battle Royal atWrestleMania X-Seven. The WWF went as far as to picture him in a graphic on WWF.com promoting the match, though he was removed weeks before the event.
After leaving the World Wrestling Federation, Penzel joined theCalgary, Alberta, Canada-basedStampede Wrestling promotion, debuting in September 1987 under the ring name "Colonel Kirchner". While in Stampede Wrestling, his regular opponents includedJason the Terrible,Makhan Singh, andZodiac. Penzel left Stampede Wrestling in December 1987.[9]
Penzel had some short stints withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling in June 1989 and March 1990. Then he started what would be a successful wrestling career for himself in Japan as he created the ring name and gimmick of "Leatherface" and tied it in withthe villain of the same name from the movieThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
In 1991, Penzel appeared with theUniversal Wrestling Federation as "Corporal Kirchner".
In 1992, Penzel joinedVíctor Quiñones' W*ING promotion and was considered by many to be the toughest hardcore wrestler in W*ING. While in Japan, he had a fight withAmerican Wrestling Association wrestler, Jonnie Stewart, breaking Stewart's jaw and causing Stewart to leave the tour prematurely. Penzel was later arrested and jailed for six months following an attempted assault by a fan, which left the fan with severe facial injuries. During his brief time in jail, the Leatherface character that Penzel created was given to another wrestler, Rick Patterson, who eventually left W*ING and went toInternational Wrestling Association of Japan.
During a subsequent match in the IWA that the new Leatherface competed in, the original Leatherface (Penzel) appeared in the crowd. This set up the team of the Leatherfaces, which lasted for only one match and was intended as a transition of the character away from Patterson. On December 13, 1994, the Leatherfaces faced two popular wrestlers, Shoji Nakamaki and Hiroshi Ono, in anail hell deathmatch. In a match that would become a classic withinhardcore wrestling, Penzel brokekayfabe after the match and ripped off a piece of the bed of nails, placed it on Ono's throat and then executed aleg drop onto the patch of nails. He thenpowerbombed Ono onto the bed of nails. Penzel afterward left the IWA, with the promotion claiming that he was fired in an attempt to salvage Ono's destroyed reputation.
Penzel then left forFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. Using a modified version of his Leatherface gimmick, he debuted for the promotion under the name "Super Leather" and later formed a tag team withChris Romero. The team proved to be successful, as they managed to score wins over popular and well-known tag teams includingJado andGedo, andMasato Tanaka and Iko Kuroda. Penzel remained with FMW until its closure in 2002.
Following the closure of FMW, Penzel made some further appearances for International Wrestling Association Japan. He retired from wrestling full-time in 2004. In 2007, he revived his Leatherface character for his first match since 2004. In his return match, he teamed withJayson Voorhees as The Serial Killers in a losing effort toMad Man Pondo andNecro Butcher on February 25, 2007, during theInsane Clown Posse's Tempest Release Party. On March 2, the Serial Killers defeated KJ Hellfire and Ricky during the Tempest Release Party.[10] He wrestled his final match inTokyo, Japan on January 26, 2010, teaming withMr. Pogo and The W*inger in a loss toHisakatsu Oya,Ricky Fuji, andTarzan Goto.[6]
Penzel was reportedly announced dead on October 15, 2006, by former employerWorld Wrestling Entertainment (formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation). On October 21, it was announced that he was still alive. This came as a result of confusion over Penzel's actual name, which was believed to be Thomas Spear at the time. There, in fact, was a Thomas Spear who died inWhite Marsh, Maryland, but he is completely unconnected to Penzel.[2] Penzel's mother heard about the WWE's announcement of her son's death and immediately called her son to inform him. Penzel and his mom then contacted the WWE to tell that Penzel was still alive and in good health, leading to the WWE's announcement on October 21. Penzel, who was working as a truck driver at the time, later remarked that he was honored and surprised that people still remembered him 20 years after his brief rise to fame in WWF/E.
He died from a heart attack inSiler City, North Carolina, on December 22, 2021, at the age of 64.[1]