Paul Orndorff | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Orndorff in 2009 | |
| Born | Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (1949-10-29)October 29, 1949[1] Winchester, Virginia, U.S.[2] |
| Died | July 12, 2021(2021-07-12) (aged 71) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Tampa |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Family | Terry Orndorff (brother)[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff[3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 252 lb (114 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Brandon, Florida, U.S.[3] |
| Trained by | Bob Backlund[1] Jack Brisco[1] Eddie Graham[1] Hiro Matsuda[1] |
| Debut | 1976[1] |
| Retired | 2000 |
| Football career | |
| Profile | |
| Positions | Tight end,fullback |
| Career information | |
| High school | Brandon High (FL)[4][5][6] |
| College | Tampa |
| NFL draft | 1973: 12th round, 289th overall pick |
| Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an Americanprofessional wrestler andfootball player, best known for his appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) andWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).
After seven years working around theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Orndorff became a star in the1980s WWF wrestling boom, and featured with managerBobby Heenan and championHulk Hogan extensively, including in the main events of the firstWrestleMania andSurvivor Series. He left theWWF forWCW in early 1990, where he won theWCW World Television Championship and theWCW World Tag Team Championship withPaul Roma (as a team calledPretty Wonderful).
Arm atrophy from a nagging injury led him to retire in 2000. After retiring, he trained aspiring wrestlers. Orndorff was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and theNational Wrestling AllianceHall of Fame in 2009.
After his football career ended, Orndorff watched Championship Wrestling from Florida in the mid-1970s. He called his father-in-law, who knew someone who knew Florida promoter Eddie Graham, which got his start into the wrestling business.[7]
Orndorff started wrestling in 1976 inMid-Southern Wrestling where he feuded with a youngJerry Lawler. Orndorff won his first wrestling title when he pinned Lawler for the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship on June 7, 1977.[8] Orndorff lost the title back to Lawler before he left the Memphis territory. Orndorff began working for the NWA Tri-State promotion where he got involved in a feud withErnie Ladd. The feud with Ladd saw Orndorff win theNWA Tri-State North American Heavyweight Title[8] from Ladd on two occasions (on May 29, 1978[8] and again in June). Both times, Orndorff's reigns were short and were ended by Ladd.[8]
After feuding with Ladd, Orndorff continued to make a name for himself in theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) where he feuded withThe Masked Superstar. During this time he became known as "The Brandon Bull", a nickname he had during his days as a football player. In December 1978, Orndorff teamed withJimmy Snuka to capture theNWA World Tag Team Championship fromBaron von Raschke andGreg Valentine.[8] The duo held on to the title for five months before losing it to Raschke and his new partnerPaul Jones on April 16, 1979.[8]
In 1979, Orndorff traveled to the Alabama territory's "Southeast Championship Wrestling." There, Orndorff worked mainly as a tag team competitor teaming withDick Slater to win theNWA Southeast Tag Team Championship from the team ofJimmy Golden andNorvell Austin in October 1979.[8] Their reign only lasted about a month before being upended by the combination ofDennis Condrey andDavid Schultz.[8] Orndorff then teamed with former opponent Austin (who was calling himself "The Junkyard Dog" at the time, not to be mistaken for the more famousJunkyard Dog) to win the title in late 1979.[8] The duo beat Condrey andRandy Rose, the same team that ended Orndorff and Austin's run with the gold.[8] Austin, Condrey, and Rose formedThe Midnight Express shortly thereafter.
During 1980, Orndorff started to split his time between the Alabama and the Mid-South territories, until he left the Alabama territory by the end of 1980 to focus entirely on the Mid-South territory. In Mid-South, Orndorff feuded with Ken Mantell over Mantell's propensity for cutting people's hair after a match. Orndorff got the better of Mantell and won the right to use theFreebird hair removal cream on Mantell. Orndorff earned a shot at the North American championThe Grappler but on the day of the match he overslept (storyline) and was incensed when his replacementJake "The Snake" Roberts beat the Grappler for the title.[8] Orndorff's reaction to Roberts's title win signaled a change in attitude; heturnedheel as he demanded a title match against Roberts. While he lost the support of the fans, he won the North American title on July 4, 1981.[8][9] Orndorff feuded withTed DiBiase, JYD,Dusty Rhodes, andDick Murdoch while holding on to the North American title. Orndorff lost the title to DiBiase on November 1, 1981, in a match at the Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans, Louisiana. Orndorff was unable to wrestle in the rematch due to car trouble, which meant that Orndorff's friend Bob Roop got the title shot and won the match.[8] It was soon revealed that Roop had sabotaged Orndorff's car so he could get the title shot instead (storyline). Orndorff turned face to feud with Roop but found himself unable to regain the title[10] after which he left the Mid-South Territory.
Orndorff reappeared inGeorgia Championship Wrestling in early 1982 immediately launching into a feud withBuzz Sawyer over theNWA National Heavyweight Championship.[7] He won the gold on June 20, 1982.[8] During the summer, he vacated the title to focus on pursuing theNWA World Champion"Nature Boy" Ric Flair.[8] He was unsuccessful in his challenge and soon focused on the title he gave up. When Orndorff vacated the title, it was put on the line in a tournament that was won byThe Super Destroyer.[11] On August 19, 1982, Orndorff regained the title from the Super Destroyer.[8] Orndorff next feuded with The Masked Superstar, with whom he traded the National Heavyweight title back and forth during the fall of 1982.[8] Orndorff then traded the title back and forth with Super Destroyer.[8] Frustrated with his inability to beat Orndorff for the National title,Larry Zbyszko paidKiller Tim Brooks $25,000 to do his dirty work. Brooks beat Orndorff with the help of a chair and won the title only to turn around and give it to Zbyszko. The fact that Zbyszko bought the title and did not win it forced NWA PresidentBob Geigel to step in and strip Zbyszko of the title.[8]
Orndorff then moved to New Japan Pro Wrestling for several months. He made two tours of Japan, the first in April. He wrestledKengo Kimura,Riki Choshu, andAkira Maeda, as well as teaming up withEd Leslie againstAntonio Inoki andSeiji Sakaguchi. Orndorff returned in October and partnered with Big John Studd against Maeda and Sakaguchi, then faced Maeda again in singles competition.
Orndorff signed with theWorld Wrestling Federation in late 1983 and made his debut in November of that year on Championship Wrestling. Starting in January 1984, Orndorff took on"Rowdy" Roddy Piper as his manager.[12] Piper nicknamed Orndorff "Mr. Wonderful", a nickname that he used thereafter. Orndorff facedSalvatore Bellomo on the night thatHulk Hogan defeatedThe Iron Sheik for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship and "Hulkamania was now in the WWF as it was in the AWA".[12] Orndorff became one of the first people to challenge for the world title, shooting straight to the main event less than a month after his debut.[13] Hogan disposed of the challenger and moved on while Orndorff fought a variety of opponents including theIntercontinental ChampionTito Santana.[13] When Piper assaulted Jimmy Snuka on the set ofPiper's Pit, Orndorff assisted the Rowdy One in his matches. Orndorff and Piper often faced Snuka and "The Tonga Kid" in tag team competition.[13]
Near the end of 1984, Piper's assault onCyndi Lauper (kayfabe) brought Orndorff and Piper on a collision course with Hogan andMr. T.[12] Hogan's feud with Piper also meant that Orndorff was thrust back into the main event picture; he defeatedTony Atlas atThe War to Settle the Score and then played a part in the main event.[12] The fallout fromThe War to Settle the Score led to the creation ofWrestleMania, with Hogan and Mr. T (backed by Snuka) taking on Piper and Orndorff in the main event (withBob Orton, Jr, as Piper and Orndorff's manager). Orton's interference at the end of the match backfired when he accidentally hit Orndorff with the cast on his arm, allowing Hogan to pin Orndorff and win the match for his team.[14] Blaming Orndorff for the loss, Piper and Orton attacked him onSaturday Night's Main Event I. Later in the evening, Orndorff ran to the ring to even the sides when Piper and Orton were preparing to double team Hogan.[15] He solidified his babyfaceturn by publicly firing managerBobby Heenan shortly afterwards.[12]
Orndorff and Hogan started teaming up to feud with Piper and Orton, facing them in tag team competition all over the country.[16] Orndorff's feud with Piper and Orton continued to rage on while Hogan started to defend his title against other contenders; Orndorff faced both Orton[16] and Piper[16] in individual competition, usually without a conclusive outcome. After Orndorff fired Heenan as his manager, Heenan placed a $25,000 bounty on Orndorff, payable to anyone who could injure him.[16] When no one succeeded, Heenan upped the bounty to $50,000.[12] One of the first men to try to claim the new, higher bonus was Piper himself, but their matches got so out of hand thatBruno Sammartino was appointed as a special referee in the hopes of keeping the peace. Instead of keeping the peace, Sammartino became a target for Orton and Piper,[16] which led to Orndorff and Sammartino teaming up. Orndorff teamed with a variety of opponents in his fights with Piper and Orton, includingAndré the Giant.[12] In February 1986, Heenan used a match between Hogan andDon Muraco as an opportunity to haveKing Kong Bundy attack Hogan, setting up theirWrestleMania 2 match. While Hogan fought off Bundy, Orndorff battled Muraco in a match that ended in a double count out.[17]
Adrian Adonis took every opportunity that he could to mock Orndorff (including referring to him as "Hulk Jr."), saying that he had gone soft from teaming with Hogan. Adonis kept on irritating Orndorff, going so far as daring Orndorff to prove just how close his relationship with Hogan really was. During a televised phone call to Hogan, Orndorff was told that Hogan was too busy training to come to the phone, something which aggravated Orndorff no end.[12] The next time that Hogan and Orndorff teamed up, againstThe Moondogs, Orndorff wrestled most of the match by himself in an attempt to upstage Hogan, scoring the winning pin.[18] The next week, during a tag match where Hogan and Orndorff faced the massive duo ofBig John Studd and Bundy, Hogan and Orndorff accidentally collided and Hogan knocked Orndorff off the apron. When Studd and Bundy started to double team Hogan, Orndorff did not help out; he looked like he had hurt his eye in the collision. It was not until Studd and Bundy had Hogan in a compromised position that Orndorff re-entered the ring to fend off Studd and Bundy. Orndorff then helped Hogan to his feet and raised his hand in the air, only to give Hogan a clothesline followed by apiledriver.[18]
Orndorff soon reunited with manager Heenan and again feuded with Hogan, and began using Hogan's theme music, "Real American", as his own entrance theme. During the Hogan feud, Orndorff seriously injured his right arm in a weightlifting accident. Because he was in the middle of his big-money run with Hogan, he did not want to take the time off to have the surgery to properly treat it, opting instead to continue to wrestle.[12] Their matches included a memorable outdoor match in Toronto atThe Big Event which drew an estimated 76,000 fans.[12] After a series of matches with no clean outcome it was decided that Hogan and Orndorff would clash in asteel cage match onSaturday Night's Main Event IX (which took place in December 1986 but aired in 1987). The cage match saw both Orndorff and Hogan climb over the top of the cage and touch the floor at the same time; heel referee Danny Davis, illegally at ringside, declared Orndorff the winner and assigned referee Joey Marella declared Hogan victorious. After reviewing the footage it was decided that it was a draw and the match was restarted. Once the match restarted, Hogan easily exited the cage to win the match following aleg drop,[19] ending their feud. Their half-year-long feud is one of the most notable (and profitable) feuds in the history of pro wrestling.[12][7]
After the program with Hogan ended, Orndorff worked a reduced schedule for a few months. In March 1987, he teamed withKing Kong Bundy in theFrank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament, defeatingBob Orton andDon Muraco in the first round but losing to theKiller Bees in the semi-finals. During March, he briefly reprised his feud with Hogan on several house shows before taking time off because of the injury. While Orndorff was away from the WWF, Heenan brought in a new man"Ravishing" Rick Rude to take Orndorff's place in the Heenan Family.
Orndorff returned to the ring on June 2, 1987, in Buffalo, New York during aWWF Superstars of Wrestling taping. Orndorff (along with Bundy, who had been off TV since WrestleMania III as well) returned to team with Hercules and King Harley Race in a victory against Mario Mancini, Don Driggers, Paul Roma, and Jim Powers.[20] Orndorff received a babyface response from the crowd during his return, leading the WWF to change his character. He fired Heenan two months later and began a feud with Rude.[21] Orndorff tookOliver Humperdink as his manager in his fight with Rude and Heenan. Orndorff's last "big" appearance was at the inauguralSurvivor Series on November 26, 1987, where he teamed with Hogan,Bam Bam Bigelow,Ken Patera, and Muraco to take on André, One Man Gang, Bundy, Rude, andButch Reed. Early in the match, Rude eliminated Orndorff with aroll-up.[22] His final match with the WWF came on a house show on January 4, 1988, against Rude in Augusta, Georgia.[23]
Paul Orndorff retired in early 1988 due to his arm injury and focused on running hisbowling alley in Fayetteville. During his time away from wrestling he was actually reported to have died; the story made several newspapers. The time off was because of the injury to his arm/neck that he suffered during the Hogan feud and left untreated for too long.[12] With the time off, Orndorff recovered and started working out, reestablishing the physique that earned him the nickname "Mr. Wonderful" in the first place. The only difference was that his right arm was noticeably smaller due to a neck injury that caused nerve damage and eventually the atrophy of his right biceps.[citation needed]
In 1990 Orndorff returned to the squared circle, wrestling a series of matches againstKerry Von Erich on theindependent circuit.[12]
On the May 26 episode ofWorld Championship Wrestling it was announced that Paul Orndorff would face Arn Anderson atClash of the Champions XI. Orndorff made his in-ring debut on June 9 in Beckley, West Virginia, defeating "Nasty" Ned Brady onMain Event. Orndorff quickly became affiliated with a group called the "Dudes with Attitudes" consisting of himself,Sting,Lex Luger,Junkyard Dog, andThe Steiner Brothers. The Dudes backed Sting in his fight with theFour Horsemen. At Clash of the Champions XI Orndorff defeated Anderson[24] and at the1990 Great American Bash, Orndorff teamed up with the Junkyard Dog andEl Gigante to defeat Arn Anderson,Barry Windham, andSid Vicious by disqualification.[25] Throughout the summer, he faced Anderson and defeated the WCW TV Champion by pinfall in several non-title matchups. He also defeated"Mean" Mark Callous in multiple house show encounters. His final WCW match came on August 26 in Chicago when he teamed with The Junkyard Dog in a losing effort against the tag-team championsDoom. Orndorff departed from the promotion that fall.[26]
By late 1990, Orndorff became one of the featured headliners forHerb Abrams' fledglingUniversal Wrestling Federation.[12] Televised on several cable outlets, the UWF saw many former WWF stars such as Don Muraco, Bob Orton, Jr., "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka,Lou Albano, andThe Killer Bees (known as "Masked Confusion" in the UWF). Mr. Wonderful more or less immediately started feuding with"Dr. Death" Steve Williams, who attacked Orndorff to kickstart the feud. Orndorff and Williams clashed several times in what was promoted as the "Signature Feud" of the UWF in its early days. He also reignited his feud with Bob Orton, Jr. in the UWF, where he beat Orton for theUWF Southern States Championship on June 22, 1992, and held the title until he left the promotion. It was awarded back to Orton when Orndorff left the promotion.[8] On June 9, 1991, Orndorff competed on the UWF's only PPVBeach Brawl, defeatingColonel DeBeers in aStrap match.[27] Orndorff left the UWF sometime in early 1993, vacating the Southern States title.[8]
While working for the UWF, Orndorff also competed in the American Wrestling Federation (not the same promotion as theAWF) and held the AWF Heavyweight title after beatingStan Lane on December 16, 1991. When Orndorff left the AWF in February 1992, he vacated the title.[8] During this time Orndorff also worked in the National Wrestling League, holding its tag team championship alongsideBrian Blair some time in 1993.[8]
In 1992,Smoky Mountain Wrestling opened its doors for the first time as they announced a tournament to crown the firstSMW Heavyweight Champion. Among the participants invited to compete wereBuddy Landel, "Dirty White Boy"Tony Anthony, andBrian Lee. Orndorff was only listed as a "wild card" who had to win a match in order to enter the tournament. The "wild card" status was a blow to Orndoff's ego (storyline), causing him to attack several wrestlers includingHector Guerrero, whom he defeated in a "wild card" match to earn a spot in the tournament. Afterwards, Orndorff laid out Guerrero and several preliminary wrestlers with his piledriver finisher. Orndoff beatTim Horner[28] andRobert Gibson[28] in the preliminary rounds to advance to the finals of the tournament. In the finals, Brian Lee won the title when Orndorff was disqualified.[8][28]
Siding with the "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony, Orndorff feuded with Hector Guerrero and Brian Lee. Lee brought inRon Garvin to fight off Orndorff;[29] the feud included a featured "piledriver match", which Garvin won.[30] Orndorff was fired from the SMW after piledriving a referee in frustration.[citation needed]
Orndorff returned to WCW in late 1992. In January 1993 he took onCactus Jack, with the winner being managerHarley Race's chosen replacement for an injured Rick Rude atClash of the Champions XXII. Race assisted Orndorff in the match and was quickly joined byVader in his attack on Cactus Jack. After the match, Race declared that Paul Orndorff was his chosen man.[31] Orndorff was pinned by Cactus Jack in a subsequentThunderdome match;[32] the two had an intense feud including aFalls Count Anywhere match atSuperBrawl III, which Cactus Jack won.[33]
After the feud with Cactus cooled off, "Mr. Wonderful" set his sights on the vacantWCW World Television Championship. Orndorff signed up for a 16-man tournament beating2 Cold Scorpio, Cactus Jack,Johnny B. Badd, and thenErik Watts in the finals to win his first title in WCW.[8] Orndorff, the TV champion, and Rick Rude, theU.S. Champion, began teaming on a regular basis, including a PPV victory overDustin Rhodes andKensuke Sasaki atSlamboree.[34] During this time Orndorff also turned back the challenges ofRon Simmons and Marcus Alexander Bagwell, amongst others, holding on to his Television title by any means necessary.[35] Orndorff defeated Bagwell controversially, using the second rope for leverage during the pinfall. The two feuded over the WCW World Tag Team Championship. Orndorff's TV title reign also included a successful defence against future ECW champion Shane Douglas and a disqualification loss to Johnny B Badd, afterMaxx Payne violently interfered. This led to a brief six man tag team alliance between Orndorff, Payne, andChris Benoit. On August 18, 1993, Orndorff's luck ran out asRicky Steamboat won the title atClash of the Champions XXIV.[8][36] After unsuccessfully challenging Ricky Steamboat throughout the fall and winter of 1993, Orndorff moved into the tag team division.
After the 1993 WCW pay-per-viewBattlebowl, Horsemen membersPaul Roma andArn Anderson faced the semi-regular team of Paul Orndorff and"Stunning" Steve Austin onWCW Saturday Night. During the match, Roma acted very indifferently to his tag team partner, sowing the seeds to his heel turn. A week later, Roma teamed withErik Watts to take on the team of Orndorff andLord Steven Regal. This time, Roma took it a step further and attacked Erik Watts before announcing that he was now teaming with Paul Orndorff.[citation needed]
Under the tutelage of managerMasked Assassin, the team quickly began to work well together in a feud withMarcus Alexander Bagwell and2 Cold Scorpio.[37][38] In the following months, both Roma and Orndorff focused on their individual careers before reuniting around May. This time they wrestled without their manager and were officially known as "Pretty Wonderful". With both men rededicated to teaming, they soon challenged for theWCW World Tag Team Championship then held byCactus Jack andKevin Sullivan. One incident especially stands out that established Pretty Wonderful in the title chase. The champions had one last defense against former championsthe Nasty Boys that also saw Kevin's injured brotherDave. The match degraded into a brawl that saw Pretty Wonderful make an appearance using Dave's crutch to attack the champions. Before the team left the ring, they also took a couple of shots at the Nasty Boys for good measure.[citation needed]
Going intoBash at the Beach,[39] Pretty Wonderful had the advantage as both champions were suffering from injuries inflicted by the challengers on previous occasions (kayfabe).Cactus Jack andKevin Sullivan were unable to hold off Roma and Orndorff, as Pretty Wonderful left the ring with the gold.[8][40] Pretty Wonderful was immediately challenged by the Nasty Boys after winning the title, but the Nasty Boys were never able to take the gold from the champions. Next, Pretty Wonderful was challenged by the duo ofStars and Stripes (Marcus Alexander Bagwell andThe Patriot) atFall Brawl. The champions retained,[41] but a week later the championship changed hands when Stars and Stripes got the victory.[8] Pretty Wonderful was granted a rematch against the new champions with a match booked forHalloween Havoc; Pretty Wonderful regained the belts when Roma used one of them to knock Bagwell out.[8]
During a February 5, 1995 taping ofWCW Worldwide, Orndorff crossed paths with Hogan for the first time since 1987. The duo ofHulk Hogan andRandy Savage faced Pretty Wonderful in a televised match which the latter lost. This was the only time Orndorff and Hogan wrestled each other inWCW.[42]
AtClash of the Champions XXIX Stars and Stripes were granted a final shot at the tag team title, but the challengers also had to put up the Patriot's mask on the line. After a controversial double pin finish, Stars and Stripes were declared the winners and thus the champions,[43] putting the end to Pretty Wonderful's second and final run with the gold.[8]
Orndorff returned to singles competition with his most notable match at the time being an unsuccessful shot at theIWGP Heavyweight Championship when he faced championthe Great Muta atSlamboree.[44] In May, Orndorff got a golden opportunity to regain the WCW Television title. He defeatedBrian Pillman in a tournament to earn the shot at the champion.[45] He lost to WCW newcomerThe Renegade atBash at the Beach.[46] Orndorff was also unable to beat the rookie in subsequent matches and (inkayfabe) began to lose confidence in his abilities. After losing more and more matches, including a match onWorldWide toRandy Savage, Orndorff lost all faith in his abilities; the outwardly arrogant Mr. Wonderful was riddled with self-doubt, until one night, after beating himself up backstage after yet another loss, he was visited by psychicGary Spivey. Spivey convinced Orndorff to believe in himself and that he shouldn't forget that he was "Mr. Wonderful".[47]
On the December 11, 1995 episode ofMonday Nitro, Orndorff confronted Brian Pillman after Pillman made derogatory comments about Orndorff. After telling Flair and Anderson how much he respected them, Orndorff told Pillman that he could have been a Horseman and the only reason Pillman was a Horseman was because he was also offered to be one, but turned it down. Anderson and Flair tried to calm Orndorff down but Orndorff lost his temper and attacked Pillman. Pillman, Flair, and Anderson attacked Orndorff and then Arn Anderson and Ric Flair delivered a spike piledriver to Orndorff on the arena floor during the attack. WCW later explained that Orndorff had been seriously hurt in the attack and that his career was over. In actuality, Orndorff was forced to retire due to his previous injuries in the WWF, with the entire right side of his body beginning toatrophy (eventually causing his arm and leg muscles to shrink). It was something he had worked through as best he could but by the end of 1995 he was forced to retire and started to work as a trainer and a road agent for WCW.[12]
On December 13, 1999, Orndorff wrestled against theHarris Twins in a handicap match by a losing effort onMonday Night Nitro. At the2000 Fall Brawl, in a match between The Filthy Animals and The Natural Born Thrillers, Orndorff suffered a neck injury after delivering a piledriver. The referee,Charles Robinson stopped the match as a result. After Orndorff retired for a final time, he began to run theWCW Power Plant, where he trained several wrestlers includingThe Natural Born Thrillers.[48] He had a brief onscreen role during this time in the Old Age Outlaws withTerry Funk,Arn Anderson, andLarry Zbyszko to feud with the last WCW version of thenWo.
On February 3, 2005, Orndorff was announced as one of the inductees for the Class of 2005 into theWWE Hall of Fame. He was inducted on April 2 at theUniversal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles byBobby Heenan.[49] In 2009, Orndorff was elected by a committee of his peers to theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame,[citation needed] then located in Amsterdam, New York, now located in Wichita Falls, Texas. On April 6, 2014, Orndorff made an appearance atWrestleMania XXX, marking his first time on WWE television since the 2005 Hall of Fame. He appeared in a segment with hisWrestleMania I teammateRoddy Piper and their opponents from the event,Hulk Hogan andMr. T, as well as the referee for the match,Pat Patterson, interrupting Hogan's interview withGene Okerlund.[citation needed] On August 11, 2014, Orndorff made an appearance at Hogan's birthday celebration onWWE Raw, celebrating in the ring with many other WWE legends, includingHogan himself,Ric Flair,Kevin Nash,Scott Hall,Okerlund,Jimmy Hart, andPiper.[citation needed] On May 3, 2017, aged 67, Orndorff had his final match, and first since 2000, winning a six-man tag at a Canadian Wrestling's Elite (CWE) show inBrandon, Manitoba.[50]
Orndorff's parents were both ofGerman descent. His father died of cancer in 1965.[7] He resided inFayetteville, Georgia. He married his high school girlfriend Ronda Maxwell Orndorff. They had two grown sons, Paul Orndorff III and Travis Orndorff, as well as eight grandchildren. Paul had one sister, Patricia Orndorff, and two brothers named Mickey Ronald Cain, andTerry Orndorff, with whom he wrestled briefly as a tag team in the early 1980s. Terry went on to have limited success as a tag team wrestler with other partners such asThe Junkyard Dog andKerry Von Erich.[51][7]
On January 5, 2011, Orndorff told theBusted OpenSirius Satellite Radio show that he had recently been diagnosed with throatcancer.[52] He was reportedly in critical condition and was on a feeding tube with a few days to live.[7] On August 10, he announced it was gone.[53]
In July 2016, Orndorff was named part of aclass action lawsuit filed againstWWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred "long term neurological injuries" and that the company "routinely failed to care" for them and "fraudulently misrepresented and concealed" the nature and extent of those injuries. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who led a number of other lawsuits againstWWE.[54] In September 2018, US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the case, ruling that some of its claims were frivolous and some had been filed after the statute of limitations had expired.[55] In September 2020, an appeal was dismissed by a federal appeals court.[56]
On May 8, 2021, Orndorff's son Travis posted a video of him at a medical facility, where he was seen in a state of reporteddementia.[57][58] He believed that his father's dementia was a result ofchronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).[59]
On July 12, 2021, Orndorff died ofdementia at the age of 71 inAtlanta, Georgia.[60][61]
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