.jpg) Volkoff in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (1947-10-14)October 14, 1947[3] |
| Died | July 29, 2018(2018-07-29) (aged 70) Glen Arm, Maryland, U.S. |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Nikolai Volkoff[1] Bepo Mongol[2] Boris Breznikoff Executioner #3 |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 313 lb (142 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Moscow,Russia Soviet Union[2] Mongolia (as Bepo Mongol) |
| Trained by | Stu Hart[1] Newton Tattrie |
| Debut | 1967 |
Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018),[4][5] better known by hisring nameNikolai Volkoff, was aCroatian-Americanprofessional wrestler, best known for his time in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF).
In the 1970s, Peruzović wasBepo Mongol of the Mongolstag team withGeeto Mongol, and one of the maskedExecutioners. He later transitioned to singles competition as Volkoff, aRussian Sovietheel, and feuded withBruno Sammartino over theWWWF World Heavyweight Championship. In the 1980s, hetag teamed withthe Iron Sheik and won theWWF Tag Team Championship at theinauguralWrestleMania event, and then withBoris Zhukov asThe Bolsheviks.
In 1990, Volkoff turnedface and defected to America, briefly feuding with Zhukov and newly-heelIraqi sympathizerSgt. Slaughter. In 1994, after a hiatus, he returned as a destitute and desperate character, exploited byTed DiBiase as the first member of hisMillion Dollar Corporation. He continued to wrestle in various promotions until his death in 2018.
Peruzović grew up in theSocialist Republic of Croatia, which was then part ofYugoslavia,[6] to ethnicCroat parents Ivan and Dragica Peruzović (nee Tomašević). His maternal grandfather Ante Tomašević, originally fromSinj, was world champion in theGreco-Roman wrestling style at the turn of the 20th century.[7][8] According toFreddie Blassie's autobiography, Peruzović's family also hadRussian andItalian ancestry.[9]
Peruzović would claim in later life that "Volkoff" (Russian:Волков) was a surname from his mother's lineage.[8][10] He would also claim that "Nikolai" was his middle name, which was false, his actual middle name was Hrvoje.[8][10]
He was on the Yugoslavianweightlifting team until 1967, when he emigrated to Canada after a weightlifting tournament inVienna, Austria.[11] He received training inCalgary fromStu Hart, followed by his arrival in the United States in 1970.[10] A fellow Croatian-native played the first Soviet Volkoff character in American pro-wrestling. Steve Gobb (originally Gobrokovich) wrestled as USSR's Nicoli [sic] Volkoff in the 1960s before the character was picked up by Peruzović.
While trying his luck as a wrestler inCalgary,Alberta, in 1967, he met wrestlerNewton Tattrie, who was wrestling forStu Hart'sStampede Wrestling. During his 1963–1968 tour, Tattrie took Peruzović under his wing as a protégé and trained the non-English speaking, 315-pound man to become a professional wrestler andtag team partner. When Tattrie left the territory in 1968 for the US, Peruzović left with him, working in various territories for theNational Wrestling Alliance includingNWA Detroit, theInternational Wrestling Association and theNational Wrestling Federation where they won tag gold.
In 1970 he began wrestling inVince McMahon Sr.'s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (currently known asWWE). Wrestling asBepo Mongol, managed by "Captain"Lou Albano and partnered with Newton Tattrie (as Geeto Mongol) as the Mongols, he captured theWWF International Tag Team Championship fromTony Marino andVictor Rivera on June 15, 1970.[2] After losing the title toLuke Graham andTarzan Tyler in a match over a year later that unified the WWWF International andWWWF World Tag Team Championship, Peruzović left the WWWF and went on to singles competition under the name "Nikolai Volkoff".[2]
In 1974, Volkoff returned to the company and appeared in a memorable match at a sold outMadison Square Garden and wrestled one of the sport's most famous champions,Bruno Sammartino.[2] In 1976, he was masked as an Executioner as he became the third member along withKiller Kowalski andBig John Studd. They captured the World Tag Team Championship, but it was vacated due to a third member interfering. Later he reverted to the Volkoff name. During this time in the WWWF, Volkoff was announced as being from Mongolia. He had a very successful feud with Bruno Sammartino, which started when Volkoff attacked him during an interview segment. They sold-out arenas throughout the Northeast. During this tenure, he began crushing fresh apples with one hand as a sign of what he would do to his opponents. He later had a feud withBob Backlund during Backlund's tenure as champion.
Late in 1974, Volkoff moved to theAWA where he wrestled under the nameBoris Breznikoff, managed byBobby "The Brain" Heenan, he used the same gimmick with a different ring name. From 1977 to 1983 he wrestled in Japan forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling andAll Japan Pro Wrestling. In 1983, Volkoff wrestled for "Cowboy"Bill Watts in theMid-South region. On October 29, 1989, he returned toAWA for a one night appearance as he lost toKen Patera.
In July 1984, Volkoff returned to the renamed WWF defeatingS. D. Jones on Georgia Championship Wrestling and teamed withthe Iron Sheik with the pair being managed by the "Hollywood fashion plate""Classy" Freddie Blassie.[2] It was at this point that Volkoff began to sing thenational anthem of the Soviet Union before every match after which the Sheik would grab the microphone and proclaim "Iran number one, Russia number one" before exaggeratedly spitting after saying "USA" (or "USA and Canada" when in or broadcast in Canada), in order to gain even moreheat for beingforeign heels.[2] The new team of Volkoff and the Iron Sheik captured theWWF Tag Team Championship fromthe U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo andBarry Windham) at the firstWrestleMania, on March 31, 1985, after the Sheik had knocked out Windham with Fred Blassie's cane.[2] After losing the title back to Rotundo and Windham three months later, Volkoff began to wrestle more in singles competition. He facedHulk Hogan for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions in 1985 and 1986 (including aflag match onSaturday Night's Main Event II at theBrendan Byrne Arena).
Volkoff also feuded with former82nd AirborneparatrooperCorporal Kirchner throughout 1985 and 1986, defeating him in a "peace match" onSaturday Night's Main Event IV. Their feud ended when Kirchner used Blassie's cane to defeat Volkoff atWrestleMania 2 in another flag match during theChicago portion of the event. In the fall of 1986, Volkoff's manager"Classy" Freddy Blassie sold half interest in his stable of superstars to the "Doctor of Style",Slick (kayfabe),[2] giving Slick co-managerial rights to Volkoff. Blassie also shared the contracts of the Iron Sheik andHercules. This was a storyline aimed at reducing the aging Blassie's active role, and the "Hollywood fashion plate" eventually retired in the fall of 1986 at the age of 68. Sheik and Volkoff feuded with WWF newcomerJim Duggan for the majority of 1987, including Duggan running to the ring and stopping the Russian's singing before their match againstthe Killer Bees atWrestleMania III (Sheik and Volkoff won by disqualification when Duggan entered the ring while chasing Volkoff and then hitting the Sheik with his 2x4 while he had thecamel clutch on"Jumping" Jim Brunzell).
In late 1987, Volkoff was teamed withBoris Zhukov, another purported Russian (played by American James Harrell), to formthe Bolsheviks.[2] They feuded with WWF newcomersthe Powers of Pain, losing to them at the inauguralSummerSlam PPV in1988. As they lost the public eye due to many losses, they eventually lost their manager Slick and were used as a comic relief team losing many matches tothe Bushwhackers. The Bolsheviks never held any titles together, and are perhaps best remembered for being defeated in 19 seconds bythe Hart Foundation atWrestleMania VI.[2] Eventually, by 1990, the Bolsheviks split up. Volkoff publicly ended the partnership prior to a match where he confronted Zhukhov and then started singing "The Star-Spangled Banner", drawing loud cheers from the audience and turningbabyface in the process.
A short time after the Bolsheviks split, Volkoff became aface for the first time in his career. Hisgimmick was now that of a recent defector, he became very pro-west which led to a feud withSgt. Slaughter who had an Iraqi sympathizer role and teamed with the former Iron Sheik, who had recently begun anIraqi gimmick under the name Colonel Mustafa.[2] After Volkoff's team defeated Slaughter's team at the1990 Survivor Series (Tito Santana was the sole survivor), Volkoff left the WWF at the end of 1990. He made a brief return to compete in the 1992Royal Rumble match, as well as to face Hercules in a house show match on January 29 in Lowell, Massachusetts.[12][13]
After leaving WWF, Volkoff began competing in theindependent circuit. On May 3, 1991, he defeated his former Bolshevik partnerBoris Zhukov for Trans World Wrestling Federation in Newington, Connecticut. On August 8, 1992, he went to Puerto Rico to wrestled forWorld Wrestling Council WWC 19th Anniversario 1992 losing tothe Patriot. On April 4, 1993, he wrestled his former partnerthe Iron Sheik to a double count out at Wrestling in the USA event in Livingston, New Jersey.
In 1992 he went toEastern Championship Wrestling in Philadelphia where he feuded with Vladimir Markoff. On October 2, he lost toECW ChampionDon Muraco. He then returned to ECW on October 16, 1993, as he lost toJimmy Snuka.
He returned as a babyface to pinBarry Horowitz at aWWF Superstars/All-American Wrestling taping on July 6, 1993, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[14]
On February 1, 1994, Volkoff began a full-time return to the WWF, making a ringside appearance at a Superstars taping in White Plains, New York during a match between Diesel and Mike Moraldo.[15] For the next two months, Volkoff was shown in the crowd, until eventually he became a sympathetic heel by playing the whipping-boy ofTed DiBiase'sMillion Dollar Corporation.[2] Volkoff hadkayfabe fallen on hard times and was forced to take a job working for DiBiase and his new Corporation. As low man in the group he was forced to wrestle matches no one else wanted to or sent out to "soften up" opponents for other members of thestable as the sacrificial lamb of the group. The disrespect even extended to renaming him "Nickel & Dime" Volkoff and DiBiase forcing him to place a¢ on his trunks where the Russiansickle once was along with a sign on his ring attire that read "Property of the Million Dollar Man". The final WWF match for Volkoff was on December 30, 1994, when he defeated jobber Bob Starr in a house show. Volkoff's final appearance was at the WWF's final show at the Boston Garden on May 13, 1995. During a match between Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka, Volkoff made an appearance to chase Tatanka's manager Ted Dibiase away.[16] Following this last run in the WWF, Volkoff entered semi-retirement.
Volkoff made a brief cameo on an episode ofShotgun Saturday Night in 1997 whereTodd Pettengill discovered himhomeless sleeping in a box on the streets of New York City. He also appeared atWrestleMania X-Seven at theAstrodome in Houston in the gimmick battle royal which was won bythe Iron Sheik. On November 30, 2001, he lost toKing Kong Bundy at AAWA event in Jersey City, New Jersey. On February 3, 2005, Volkoff was announced as one of theWWE Hall of Fame inductees for the class of 2005. He was inducted on April 2, 2005, byJim Ross at theUniversal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. In 2006, Volkoff took part in theWorld Wrestling Legends pay-per-view6:05 The Reunion. Managed by the Iron Sheik, he wrestled a match against Duggan. Before the match, he once again sang the national anthem of the Soviet Union and riled up the crowd. Volkoff made his first appearance on WWE television in over two years on the August 13, 2007 episode ofRaw as a contestant on WWE Idol, a parody ofAmerican Idol. Volkoff appeared alongside the Iron Sheik andHoward Finkel, although Volkoff was the only one who sang. Volkoff sang the Soviet Union national anthem, receiving boos from the crowd (despite being a babyface) and was insulted by judgeWilliam Regal, although judgesMick Foley andMaria both praised the performance. In response, Sheik, who was also insulted, went on a tirade until both he and Volkoff were escorted out of the building by security.
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The March 10, 2008, edition ofWWE Raw, featured rematches from previousWrestleManias. The Iron Sheik appeared along with Nikolai Volkoff to face off against the U.S. Express in a rematch from thefirst WrestleMania. The match never started asJillian Hall came out to interrupt Volkoff's singing so she could singBruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.", which the U.S. Express used as their ring entrance music in 1984–85. On the November 15, 2010, edition ofRaw, as part of the "old school" theme, Volkoff appeared with the Iron Sheik, singing the Soviet national anthem before being interrupted bySantino Marella andVladimir Kozlov, the latter of whom then sung a duet with Volkoff of the Soviet national anthem. Afterwards, Volkoff worked for variousindependent promotions throughout North America. He remained popular on the autograph convention circuit. In June 2013 he threw out the first pitch at a Bowie Baysox baseball game and sang "God Bless America" after the pitch. In October 2013, he sang the Soviet national anthem at a show in New Jersey, after being introduced byHoward Finkel.
Volkoff lent his name to a forward for a fiction novel calledOnly the Beginning which is set in the 1980s and is about a girl's life during high school. While the book is not wrestling related, the author Jason Strecker was a personal friend of Volkoff's and in the foreword Volkoff responds to his friendship with the author along with the book's message of being of strong character and doing positive actions for others. The book also has a foreword byJimmy Valiant. On the January 6, 2014, "Old School" episode ofRAW, Volkoff encounteredBig E. Langston on his way to a match and sung him the Soviet national anthem, to which Langston smiled. Immediately after, Langston walked past fellow Million Dollar Corporation members,Ted DiBiase andIrwin R. Schyster. On the RAW Fallout segment following the September 8, 2014Raw, Volkoff appeared backstage withRusev andLana and sang the Soviet national anthem.[17] On February 28, 2015, Volkoff appeared for the Superstars of Wrestling promotion in Bayville, New Jersey, where he teamed with ECW legendthe Sandman to take on independent standouts Kentucky Bred – in a 3 on 2 handicap tag match. Before the match, Volkoff and Sandman sang the Soviet national anthem and proceeded to drink beer together. The duo squashed Kentucky Bred and then poured beer all over them.
On March 21, 2015, Volkoff participated at a SICW event taking place on East Carondelet. Volkoff managed and mentored the team of younger wrestlers Ricky Cruz and Red River Jack, while also managing veteran wrestler "Cowboy" Bob Orton Jr. to take on the team of Chris Hargas, Bull Bronson, and Attila Khan. Volkoff and Orton appeared in their outfit and gimmick from their WWF days. The team of Volkoff, Orton, Cruz, and Jack came up victorious. On March 5, 2016, Volkoff showed up at Night of Legends at Billtown Wrestling in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, sang the American national anthem and teamed with Cash Money, who turned on him to give the win to Koko B. Ware and Jim Neidhart. On June 25, 2016, he wrestled his last match in Canada where he defeated the Messiah for Great North Wrestling in Pembroke, Ontario. On June 9, 2017, Volkoff wrestled for H2O Wrestling: 1 Year Anniversary in Willamstown, New Jersey as he defeatedD. J. Hyde. On May 5, 2018, at the age of 70, Volkoff wrestled his final match, teaming withJim Duggan to defeat the team of Mecha Mercenary and Nicky Benz for Battleground Championship Wrestling in Feasterville, Pennsylvania.
Peruzović met his wife Lynn in 1970, and became an American citizen that year.[18][19] InFreddie Blassie'sautobiographyListen, You Pencil Neck Geeks, he describes Peruzović as a "good family man" who helped Blassie reconnect with a daughter from whom he had been estranged for many years.[9] In a 2009 shoot interview released by Pro Wrestling Diary on DVD, Peruzović discusses his in-depth history with Freddie Blassie as well as helping Blassie re-connect with his daughter. During his career he was also known for his frugality, and traveled with ahot plate to avoid having to spend money on meals at restaurants.
Peruzović worked with theBaltimore CountyPolice Athletic League kids programs.[18] He previously worked as acode enforcement officer inBaltimore County.[20][21]
Peruzović ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 Maryland Republican primary for state delegate inDistrict 7 (representing parts of Baltimore and Harford County).[21][22]
Peruzović died at home on July 29, 2018, at the age of 70, days after being released from a Maryland hospital where he had been treated for dehydration and other medical issues.[4]
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
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