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WWF Wrestling Challenge

1986

The biggest WWE Superstars of the late 1980s and early '90s settle their differences in the ring on "Wrestling Challenge"; featuring exciting matches and memorable interviews, this weekly television series captures an important era of WWE history.

Randy Colley

Randy Colley was an American professional wrestler better known as Moondog Rex. In 1976 he joined Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and began wrestling under his real name for the first time. This would also be his first singles run. While appearing in MACW he would compete against opponents such as Steve Strong, Two Ton Harris, and Larry Sharpe. For the remainder of the 1970s he moved around various National Wrestling Alliance territories. He next appeared in Georgia Championship Wrestling. Wrestling with Moondog Spot (Larry Latham), the Moondogs made their debut on October 25, 1982 in a match at the Omni against Brad Armstrong and Tito Santana. The Moondogs would continue with the promotion for the next three months, wrestling The Wild Samoans and various combinations that included Stan Hansen. The Moondogs jumped to the World Wrestling Federation in the midst of its national expansion. The Moondogs made their return on the March 4th, 1984 edition of All American Wrestling and defeating Bobby Fulton and Brian Madden. The new duo remained undefeated until June 30, where they lost a Los Angeles house show match to The Wild Samoans. The Moondogs continued to unsuccessfully feud with the Samoans throughout that summer. In June 1984 Colley received two singles shots against WWF Champion Hulk Hogan on the Canadian television tapings that aired on both Maple Leaf and All-Star wrestling. In September 1984 they were programmed into a house show series against the newly arrived Fabulous Freebirds. While continuing to defeat preliminary opposition on television, the Dogs were winless against the Freebirds. Following departure of Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts from the promotion, the Moondogs feuded with the Brisco Brothers. On February 22, 1986 Colley made his return to the WWF on a house show in Melbourne, Australia and lost to Jacques Rougeau. Following an April tour of All Japan Pro Wrestling that saw him team with Andre the Giant and Dick Murdoch he returned to full time action in the World Wrestling Federation. On April 14 he was reunited with Moondog Spot, losing to The Rougeau Brothers on Prime Time Wrestling. Colley now found himself in a similar position as in his previous WWF run, defeating preliminary opposition but losing to more established teams. Their most high profile match came on the July 12th, 1986 edition of WWF Championship Wrestling, where they lost to WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff; the match being worked entirely by Orndorff and part of the famous feud between the latter that would begin shortly. In the fall of 1986 they began a house show series with The Islanders and finished the year facing The Killer Bees and US Express. On January 4, 1987, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Colley was repackaged as "Smash" in the new tag team of Demolition, facing and defeating The Islanders before later taking part in a battle royal won by Pete Doherty. The following day in East Rutherford, New Jersey, he made his televised debut at a WWF Superstars taping. Despite having his hair trimmed, his beard shaved off, and wearing face paint, fans almost immediately recognized him and began chanting "Moondog" when he entered the ring. Following a third appearance, this time at a Wrestling Challenge taping, he was replaced by Barry Darsow.

Kevin Wacholz

Kevin Wacholz is a former professional wrestler who worked for WWE in 1992 as Nailz. He was also known as "Mr. Magnificent" Kevin Kelly in The American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1980s. Wacholz, still performing under the name Kevin Kelly, received a tryout match on June 6, 1989 at a WWF Superstars taping in Madison, WI, defeating Tim Horner. A night later he defeated Jim Powers at a Wrestling Challenge taping, but was not signed to a contract that year. After the AWA folded, Wacholz received another tryout match, this time at a WWE Superstars taping on May 6, 1991, defeating Brian Costello. The following night at a Wrestling Challenge taping he defeated Gary Jackson in a dark match. In 1992, Wacholz debuted in WWE as Nailz, an ex-convict who, in a series of promos, alleged he was abused by former prison guard The Big Boss Man during his incarceration.He also claimed to be innocent of his (unspecified) crimes. Following Big Boss Man's squash of Dave Roulette on the May 30 episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, Nailz (dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit) attacked Boss Man, handcuffing him to the top rope before repeatedly hitting and choking him with his own nightstick.Nailz easily defeated numerous jobbers en route to defeating Boss Man's ally Virgil at SummerSlam.He continued to feud with Boss Man, who had recovered from Nailz's beating. The feud came to its climax when Big Boss Man defeated Nailz in a nightstick match at Survivor Series.Before Nailz finished the feud with Boss Man, he began another feud, this time with The Undertaker. The two had a stare down on the October 24 episode of Superstars, a photo of which was used as the cover of the January 1993 issue of WWE Magazine. This stare down was a result of Nailz not willing to leave the ring after his match in time for the next match that happened to feature The Undertaker. This face-off was well received by the WWE fans and according to sources could have been a titanic match. The commentator described the face-off as 'The unstoppable force meeting the immovable object'. Wacholz appeared at World Championship Wrestling's Slamboree event in 1993 as 'The Prisoner' (looking identical to his Nailz persona), losing to Sting. He wrestled In Jim Crockett's short-lived promotion, WWN, in 1994, as The Convict. He also wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling that year, as D.O.C. Nelson. In 1996, Wacholz appeared in Paul Alperstein's American Wrestling Federation as Nails as many WWF wrestlers from the 1980s and 1990s were wrestling in that promotion. Wacholz officially retired in 2000.

Harry Del Rios

is an American professional wrestler. Rios is best known as the Spellbinder and Phantasio from WWE, however, he has competed under many other ring names during his career. Professional wrestling career United States Wrestling Association (1993-1995) Del Rios' first prominent wrestling role was in the United States Wrestling Association. He debuted there on September 13, 1993. He wrestled as the Spellbinder for the first 4 matches of his career, then switched to wrestling under his real name, then switched back to the Spellbinder gimmick in March 1994. He would use the Spellbinder gimmick for the reminder of his time in USWA. His last USWA match was in October 1995. He continued to wrestle in various Memphis promotions after leaving the USWA. He won the NWA North American Tag Team Title with Brian Christopher in 1999, and the Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight title in 2000. World Wrestling Federation (1995) He made one appearance in World Wrestling Federation (WWF), on the July 16, 1995 episode of Wrestling Challenge. He portrayed a babyface named "Phantasio", a magician wrestler. Phantasio wore a black and white mime mask (which he handed to a young fan sitting at ringside) that revealed matching facepaint when removed. He defeated Tony DeVito by sneaking up from behind, and magically pulling out his boxers allowing him to roll up DeVito for the victory. After the match, he magically removed the boxers (black and white colored) of referee Earl Hebner. Though he never again appeared on TV, he did wrestle a match against Rad Radford at a house show in a victorious effort. NWA:TNA (2002) Harry Del Rios competed on NWA:TNA's first-ever broadcast on June 19, 2002. He wrestled as Del Rios (essentially a rip-off of Scott Steiner and his "Big Poppa Pump" character), but was not used by TNA after the initial broadcast. Later career In 2003, Rios made a short lived comeback as Shock. He teamed up with wrestler Awe ("British Storm" Ian Harrison). The team would wrestle primarily in Memphis Wrestling. In the January 2007 issue of WWE Magazine, there is a short interview with Harry Del Rios concerning the Phantasio character. Del Rios claims that the idea originated as a combination of the Ultimate Warrior and Legion of Doom gimmicks. He also hinted at a possible return of the Phantasio persona. On June 2, 2012 Del Rios revived The Phantasio character at Pro Wrestling Syndicate in a winning effort against Simon Dean in Rahway, NJ.

Papali'itele Taogaga

Papali'itele Max Amata Taogaga is a Samoan retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with WWE in the late-1980s under the ring name Sivi Afi. Early career (1974–1978) After deciding to become a professional wrestler, Taogaga went to Steve Rickard and Peter Maivia who trained him for two years. In his debut match in 1974, Taogaga defeated one of New Zealand's top light heavyweights, Del Adams. For the next four years Taogaga continued to work his way up through the ranks, wrestling the majority of foreign visitors to the country. Finally in 1978 he earned his big break, defeating Big John Da Silva in the final of an elimination tournament to decide the new, New Zealand Heavyweight Champion. Over the next few months, Taogaga successfully defended the title before heading to the U.S. at the end of 1978. International appearances (1978–1986) For the next seven years Taogaga split his time between the U.S., New Zealand, Australia and Japan. However, it was in Hawaii that Taogaga would be the most successful. It was here, in 1985, where he wrestled Ric Flair to a one-hour time limit draw for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in front of 12,000 people. WWE (1986–1988) In January 1986, Taogaga signed with Vince McMahon's WWE, making his debut on 23 January at a house show in Anaheim, CA in a win over Tim Patterson. He would later make his debut on Prime Time Wrestling, where he was billed as "'Superfly' Afi" and deemed to be the cousin of Jimmy Snuka. On the 8 March episode of The Body Shop, Afi was introduced to viewers of WWF All Star Wrestling as Snuka's cousin. Afi was undefeated initially, albeit against lower-level competition such as Rene Goulet, Barry O, Ron Shaw, and Matt Borne. On 6 March 1986 he gained his first significant victory when he pinned Bret Hart at a house show in Buffalo, NY. Afi's undefeated streak ended three days later when he lost to Hart's partner Jim Neidhart in Landover, MD, but he continued to be pushed. Afi gained victories in April over Hercules Hernandez and Paul Roma. However fans were unaccepting of Afi as the replacement for the departed Jimmy Snuka, and openly heckled him in matches. He began to slide down the card, losing that spring to Bret Hart, Don Muraco, and Jake Roberts. By the summer all momentum had ceased. Now billed as "Sivi Afi", he became a near enhancement talent and lost to the likes of Bret Hart, Randy Savage, Harley Race and Ted DiBiase. In the summer of 1986, he was briefly referred to as "Toma". He formed a short-lived tag-team with King Tonga, but the duo was generally unsuccessful. Toagaga entered 1987 firmly established as an upper-level enhancement star, losing regularly to Hercules and others but continuing to gain victories against other opening-level talent such as Frenchy Martin and Terry Gibbs. He was used frequently as a substitute when other wrestlers could not make house shows, teaming with others such as Raymond Rougeau. In the summer of 1987, he entered a lengthy losing streak, falling to preliminary competition such as Steve Lombardi and Frenchy Martin. Following a loss to Ted Dibiase on 9 December at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Fort Myers, Toagaga went on a hiatus. His last match came on August 27, 1988 in Burlington, VT against S. D. Jones.

Debbie Szostecki

is a professional wrestler better known as Debbie Combs Combs worked for the World Wrestling Federation from 1986-1987, where she challenged for the WWF Women's Championship against The Fabulous Moolah and Sherri Martel She also worked in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and is a former NWA World Women's Champion. She originally won the title by winning a battle royal in Honolulu, Hawaii in spring 1986. At some point, she was no longer recognized as the champion and defeated Penny Mitchell to become the champion again in Kansas City, Missouri on April 10, 1987. The Kansas City promotion withdrew from NWA in 1987 and closed in 1988. The NWA vacated Combs' title and awarded Misty Blue Simmes the reinstated NWA United States Women's Championship (a replacement of the prior NWA World Women's Championship held by Combs). Combs challenged Simmes to a title match at a Delta Tiger Lilies card in 1989, but Simmes was unable to accept due to an arm injury she had sustained. American Wrestling Association She also competed in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1980s. Upon joining the promotion, Combs wrestled against Sherri Martel as a babyface, but later turned heel and became tag team partners with Madusa Miceli. The duo feuded with Heidi Lee Morgan and Brandi Mae. Return to WWF and World Championship Wrestling After leaving the promotion, she later returned to the WWF in 1994 to challenge Alundra Blayze. She wrestled Blayze once on an episode of Wrestling Challenge and was scheduled to face her at WrestleMania X, but was replaced by Leilani Kai. Combs briefly competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the mid-1990s during their brief attempt at a women's division. On the March 31, 1997 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, Combs lost to WCW Women's Champion Akira Hokuto. Women's Pro Wrestling In the early 1990s, she was also president and booker of Women's Pro Wrestling (WPW), an all-women's promotion that produced direct-to-video matches. Her organization featured "Awesome" Ondi Austin, Babyface Nellie, Bambi, Candi Devine, Denise Storm, Jackie Moore, Lady Justice, Lisa Starr, Malia Hosaka, Olympia Hartauer, Peggy Lee Leather, Penelope Paradise, Penny Mitchell, Sandy Partelow, Susan Green, and Velvet McIntyre. After Wrestling Since her retirement, Debbie Combs has worked as a booking processor with the Davidson County Sheriff's Office in Nashville, TN.

Michelle McGuirk

Michelle Kathleen McGuirk is a well-known figure in professional wrestling, best known as a ring announcer for WWF from 1986 to 1994. She is the daughter of wrestler and promoter Leroy McGuirk, and grew up around the wrestling business, despite her father’s wishes for her not to follow in his footsteps. She made her TV debut in 1987 and became known for her colorful outfits and appearances on shows like Wrestling Challenge and Prime Time Wrestling. She also worked backstage producing promos. McGuirk left WWF in 1994 for personal and professional reasons. After wrestling, she worked as a real estate agent, flight attendant, and in local politics. She has been inducted into multiple Wrestling Halls of Fame in recognition of her contributions. She has two children, and her son Max also pursued a wrestling career.

John Nord

is a retired American professional wrestler. John Nord started wrestling in late 1984 as "The Barbarian" for Mid-South Wrestling under manager Skandor Akbar. In 1985 and 1986 he changed his ring name to Nord the Barbarian and wrestled in singles and tag team competition under manager Adnan El Kassey in the American Wrestling Association. He frequently teamed with Bruiser Brody while there. The two faced Greg Gagne and Jimmy Snuka as part of a triple main event at WrestleRock 86. Nord then went to World Class Championship Wrestling under manager Gary Hart where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich for the World Class Title. He challenged Von Erich for the WCCW title at the 3rd Annual David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions at Texas Stadium in 1987. In 1989, he returned to the AWA under the name "Yukon John". A lumberjack gimmick where he would come to the ring with an ax, dressed in blue jeans, flannel shirt, animal skin hat, and boots. He mainly competed in singles competition until forming a tag team in 1990 with Scott Norton, calling themselves the ""Yukon Lumberjacks". They feuded briefly with the Texas Hangmen. When the AWA stopped promoting, he moved to Pacific Northwest Wrestling. In 1991, Nord went to the WWF as The Viking. He soon changed his name to The Berzerker and was managed by Mr. Fuji and he feuded with Davey Boy Smith and Jimmy Snuka. His most preferred method of winning matches was by throwing his opponents out of the ring and getting a "count out" victory, all the while holding his wrist, licking his hand, shouting "Huss! Huss!" à la Bruiser Brody, and intentionally falling flat on his back. He wrestled as part of a 4-man team in an elimination match at the 1991 Survivor Series pay-per-view event. He was the last man eliminated for his team. He then feuded with The Undertaker, at one point attempting to stab him with his sword. In 1992 he won a 40-man Battle Royal, aired on WWF Prime Time Wrestling, but left the WWF the following year. He went to All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1994 and stayed until 1997 when he showed up in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) with bleach blond hair under his real name, John Nord. He wrestled mainly on WCW Saturday Night and started a long winning streak that culminated with a match against another streak holder, Bill Goldberg, on July 4, 1998. Nord lost the match, had a short-lived team with Barry Darsow, and was soon gone from WCW. He retired from wrestling and went to work at his brother's auto dealership, Nord East Motors in Hilltop, MN. He has a son, Joe that wrestles HWT for the University of Minnesota. He is a junior this season 2009-2010.

Terry Daniels

Terrance Daniels is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Private Terry Daniels. His wrestling career spanned from 1978 to his retirement in 2007, and he is primarily known as a "jobber," a wrestler whose main role was to lose to the star performers. Daniels started his career in Texas, working for MMP in Amarillo and later for Southwest Championship Wrestling. In 1983, he made his debut in the WWF, where he gained some attention. In 1984, he had a notable appearance on Piper's Pit and won a battle royal in New Hampshire, with a $10,000 prize. During his time in the WWF, he faced well-known figures like Bob Backlund, Tito Santana, and the Iron Sheik, although he never won his matches against more established wrestlers like Big John Studd and Nikolai Volkoff. In 1984, he briefly teamed up with Sgt. Slaughter to challenge Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch for the WWF Tag Team Championship, but they were unsuccessful. After leaving the WWF in late 1984, Daniels continued his career in Mid-South Wrestling until 1986, and then joined various independent promotions. He briefly returned to the WWF in 1989 and 1992. He also worked in other promotions such as the Global Wrestling Federation and the United States Wrestling Association. Daniels officially retired from professional wrestling in 2007.

Sid Eudy

Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy was an American professional wrestler. He is best known under the ring names Sid Vicious, Sid Justice and "Sycho" Sid and for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and The World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Between those promotions, Eudy has enjoyed major championship success and performed to a worldwide television audience in four decades from the 1980s to the 2010s. Eudy is a six time world champion, having won the WWF Championship twice, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion twice. In addition to world title success, Eudy is also a one time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion. During his tenures with the WWF and WCW, Eudy headlined many major pay-per-views for both organizations. He closed WrestleManias VIII and 13 in 1992 and 1997 respectively, as well as Starrcade, WCW's counterpart to that event, in 2000. In speaking of Eudy's impact, WWE wrote, "One of the most brutal Superstars to ever terrorize WWE, the sadistic Sid brought an intensity that few could ever hope to contain. Just ask the litany of ring legends who have incurred his wrath — a hit list that includes Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, Bret "Hit Man" Hart and many more." Eudy was a playable character in the NES version of WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge, the Game Boy game WWF Superstars 2 and the SNES version of WWF Super Wrestlemania. For WCW he appeared in WCW Backstage Assault. Unrelated to any wrestling promotion he was a playable character in both Legends of Wrestling II and Showdown: Legends of Wrestling as well. Most recently appears as "Sycho" Sid in WWE 2K17, where his character is part of the Legends Pack downloadable content bundle. Sid is also part of the roster in WWE 2K18 and WWE 2K19.

Peggy Lee Leather

Peggy Lee Fowler, better known in the world of professional wrestling as Peggy Lee Leather, Lady X, and Thug, was an American professional wrestler who made her mark in organizations such as WWF, AWA, and WCW. She began her career in the WWF in 1980, where she formed a successful partnership with Wendi Richter. Together, they frequently challenged WWF Women's Tag Team Champions Velvet McIntyre and Princess Victoria. After splitting from Richter in 1985, Leather competed unsuccessfully for the WWF Women's Championship. In 1986, she moved to Montreal to continue her career with Lutte International. In the American Wrestling Association (AWA), under the name Peggy Lee Leather, she faced rivals such as Madusa Miceli for the AWA World Women's Championship. She also participated in the lingerie battle royal at the SuperClash III event. Throughout the 1990s, Leather joined POWW and adopted the persona of Lady X in the LPWA, where she won and later lost the LPWA Championship. She also had a brief stint in WCW, where she continued her rivalry with Madusa. In 2000, she wrestled as Thug in Women of Wrestling (WOW), a promotion in which she had one of her most memorable feuds with Selina Majors. The rivalry culminated in a fierce steel cage match. Throughout her career, Peggy Lee Leather made a significant impact on women's professional wrestling, both as a competitor and as a trainer for new talent. She retired in 2013, and sadly passed away on May 22, 2023, at the age of 64.

Sione Vailahi

Sione Havea Vailahi is a Tongan professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The Barbarian. He is best known for his various stints with The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and WWE and for being a part of tag teams The Powers of Pain with The Warlord and The Faces of Fear with Meng. His first national exposure was in the NWA territory Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), where The Powers of Pain held the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship until they departed the company in 1988 and joined WWE, where they competed in the tag team division until the team was quietly split in 1990. The Barbarian then competed as a singles wrestler until departing in 1992 and returning to WCW, where he became one half of the final WCW United States Tag Team Champions with Dick Slater. During this time, The Barbarian challenged Ron Simmons for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Halloween Havoc '92. He left WCW in 1993 and returned to the WWF in 1994 as Headshrinker Sione to form The New Headshrinkers with Fatu. He left the company in 1995 and made a second return to WCW, where he briefly reunited with The Warlord as The Super Assassins. The Barbarian would then join Meng to form The Faces of Fear and become a part of factions Dungeon of Doom and The First Family.

Ed Leslie

Cast · Known for WWF Wrestling Challenge

Edward Harrison Leslie is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in WWE under the ring name Brutus The Barber Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship Wrestling under a variety of names, mainly as "The Disciple" of real-life best friend Hulk Hogan. He is a former WWE World Tag Team Champion. Edward Leslie began his career at the side of Hulk Hogan in the 1976-1977 time frame. At the time, the two were billed as brothers; Ed was known as either Ed Boulder or Dizzy Hogan, to match Terry's Terry Boulder and Hulk Hogan. Leslie entered the WWF as a heel under the ring name Brutus Beefcake in late 1984 with manager "Luscious" Johnny Valiant. Beefcake debuted as a vain individual who dressed in outlandish outfits. As a singles competitor, he feuded with David Sammartino and Hulk Hogan, the latter who sought revenge on Beefcake after he and Valiant injured Hogan's protege Hillbilly Jim. Brutus got some "cheap heat" when he would come uninvited to ringside during Tony Atlas's matches. During the summer of 1985, Beefcake began teaming with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, and became known as "The Dream Team". The Dream Team began challenging The US Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) for the Tag Team Championship. Initially, the US Express fought off their challengers, but the Dream Team soon gained momentum, and at an August 24, 1985, show at the Philadelphia Spectrum, the Dream Team won the tag team titles from the U.S. Express when Beefcake rubbed Valiant’s lit cigar in Windham’s eye. The Dream Team held the titles for eight months, with their primary challengers being a reformed US Express (with Dan Spivey replacing the departed Windham) and British Bulldogs. At WrestleMania 2 in Rosemont, Illinois, the British Bulldogs defeated the Dream Team to win the tag team titles. The Dream Team failed to regain the titles and soon reverted to mid-card status. Leslie made news headlines on February 8, 2004 for causing an anthrax scare at one of Boston's MBTA stations, Downtown Crossing, where he was working at the time. He had been found to be in possession of a white powder, which turned out to be cocaine. He promptly checked into a drug rehabilitation facility after admitting that the cocaine found at the station was his. As a result, no charges were filed against him. Leslie married Kirsten Georgi on July 1, 1987; the couple divorced in 1991. His second marriage was to Barbara McGondel on October 1, 1994. Together, they have one daughter named Alana. Leslie also worked as a manager at Planet Fitness in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. He became a born again Christian.

Paul Vachon

Paul Vachon (Butcher Vachon) was a Canadian professional wrestler born on October 7, 1937, in Montreal, known for his aggressive style and ring name "Butcher Vachon." A member of the famous Vachon wrestling family, he began his career in 1957, following in the footsteps of his brother Maurice, and wrestled for various organizations such as the American Wrestling Association (AWA), WWF (now WWE), NWA, and Georgia Championship Wrestling. He was part of the AWA World Tag Team Champions alongside his brother Maurice. In the 1970s, Vachon also made appearances in film, starring in Wrestling Queen, and wrestled under the mask "Spoiler #2" for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in 1975. He retired in 1985 after a period of being a "jobber" (a wrestler who loses to elevate others). Outside the ring, Vachon was the adoptive father of wrestler Luna Vachon and had a personal life marked by multiple marriages and a brief political career, running for the New Democratic Party in three federal elections. He faced numerous health challenges, including colon cancer in 1993 and throat cancer in 2003, both of which he overcame through extensive treatments. After retiring, Vachon became involved in selling therapeutic products with his wife and published his autobiography, When Wrestling Was Real. He passed away on February 29, 2024, at the age of 86 in Mansonville, Quebec.

Pablo Márquez

is an Ecuadorian professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances in the United States throughout the 1990s, including stints with Extreme Championship Wrestling under his birth name and under the ring names El Puerto Riqueño and Ubas and with the World Wrestling Federation as Babu Pablo Márquez was briefly part of the WWF's fledgeling Light Heavyweight division, wrestling two matches against Taka Michinoku in late 1997 and early 1998. He re-debuted on the August 16, 1998 episode of Sunday Night Heat under the name of "Abu" (later "Babu"). His gimmick was that of a manservant to Tiger Ali Singh. He was often seen doing degrading things for Singh. Although most of his stint in WWF was in a non-wrestling role, he did have a few televised matches: on the November 3, 1998 edition of Monday Night Raw, he was ordered by Tiger Ali Singh to wrestle Al Snow, though Singh reentered and won the match; on the December 6, 1998 edition of WWE Sunday Night Heat, he teamed with Singh to wrestle Kurrgan and Luna Vachon, with the match ending in a no-contest. He also wrestled on a 1998 edition of Shotgun when he was ordered by Singh to compete against Goldust in a losing effort. After he was released from the WWF, Márquez worked for a number of wrestling promotions. On February 2, 1997 Marquez defeated Bodacious Pretty Boy in Baltimore, MD. for Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation. He went back to ECW, appearing twice on their TV shows. On the January 2, 1999 edition of ECW's Hardcore TV, Marquez lost to Yoshihiro Tajiri. He also appeared on ECW on TNN on December 17, 1999 wrestling Super Calo and Hidaka in a three way match. That match ended in a no-contest. He also worked for Jersey All Pro Wrestling under his real name. He competed there from 1999 to 2000 and was part of a group known as The "New Freebirds" with Don Montoya and Reckless Youth.[ In 2003 and 2004, he wrestled for World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and won their World Junior Heavyweight Championship three times. From 2005 to 2006, Marquez wrestled in the Puerto Rican wrestling promotion International Wrestling Association. Marquez currently wrestles, and teaches for the Main Event Training Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His first major storyline in CCW began when he got involved in a kayfabe fight confrontation between Cash Money Alex G, the head trainer of CCW's Bodyslam University, training facility, and several female graduates of the training program. When Alex G attacked the women, Marquez defended them, offering to train them himself. He also challenged Alex G to a match on September 29, 2007, in which he defeated Alex G. Marquez was the referee for The Ultimate Warrior vs. Orlando Jordan match in NWE Spain in 2008.

Ken Kilpatrick

Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter, professional wrestler, and retired mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently signed with Impact Wrestling. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Shamrock is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the history of MMA, as well as an icon and pioneer of the sport. He has headlined over 15 main events and co-main events in the UFC and Pride FC and set numerous pay-per-view records. In the early part of his UFC career, Shamrock was named "The World's Most Dangerous Man" by ABC News in a special called "The World's Most Dangerous Things". The moniker has stuck as his nickname. Shamrock became known early on in the UFC for his rivalry with Royce Gracie. After fighting to a draw in the inaugural UFC "Superfight", he became the first UFC Superfight Champion when he defeated Dan Severn at UFC 6; the title was eventually replaced by the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. He was also the first foreign MMA Champion in Japan, winning the title of King of Pancrase. During his reign as the UFC Superfight Champion, he was widely considered the #1 mixed martial artist in the world. In 2008, Shamrock was ranked by Inside MMA as one of the top 10 greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time. He is the founder of the Lion's Den mixed martial arts training camp, and is the older brother of Frank Shamrock. In addition to his mixed martial arts career, Shamrock enjoyed considerable success in professional wrestling, particularly during his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation. There, he is a one-time Intercontinental Champion, a one-time World Tag Team Champion and the 1998 King of the Ring. Shamrock also wrestled for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion – the first world champion under the TNA banner – and a 2002 Gauntlet for the Gold winner. He headlined multiple pay-per-view events in both promotions, including 1997's D-Generation X: In Your House, where he challenged for the WWF Championship. Additionally, Shamrock was also one of the first American wrestlers to use the shoot wrestling style. WWE has credited Shamrock with popularizing the ankle lock submission hold.

Duane Gill

Duane Gill is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in WWE under the ring name, Gillberg, a parody of then-rival promotion World Championship Wrestling's top star Goldberg. During his tenure in WWE, Gill became a one time Light Heavyweight Champion. He would go on to hold the title for 15 months, becoming the longest reigning Light Heavyweight Champion in the company's history. Gill made his debut on the American independent scene as a part of a masked tag team with Barry Hardy called The Lords of Darkness, with Hardy billed as Agony and Gill billed as Pain. On August 2, 1991, they defeated Cream Team (Dino Casanova and Rip Sawyer) to become the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation's first ever Tag Team Champions. The Lords participated in two of three 40-man battle royals held in 1992. The second battle royal took place two months later. The Lords later became second version of The Executioners and took part in a 40-man battle royal won by Tatanka. The Executioners then joined WWE, competing on its Monday Night Raw program against several other tag teams. The Executioners split in early 1994 and Hardy left the company on April 18. Gill then began competing under his real name as an enhancement talent before also leaving the company soon after. Return to the WWF (1998–2000) In 1998, Gill made his return to WWE at Survivor Series as Mankind's mystery opponent. Vince McMahon seemingly facilitated Mankind's route to victory in a tournament for the vacant WWE Championship as he appeared to be McMahon's favorite to win. Before Gill made his entrance, McMahon built up the suspense by referring to him (Gill) as a wrestler with a win/loss record that no other wrestler could match. Although the statement was thought to indicate that Mankind's opponent won more than lost in his career, the exact opposite was true and Gill was squashed by Mankind. He later joined the J.O.B. Squad with Al Snow, Scorpio, and Bob Holly. During this time, Gill became notable for "ending" Marc Mero's career when Mero challenged him to a match, announcing to the crowd that he would retire from wrestling if he could not beat Gill. Gill won the match with some help from the J.O.B. Squad and Mero left WWE, although he did not legitimately retire as promised.

Patty Seymour

Patty Seymour is a semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Leilani Kai. She began training with The Fabulous Moolah right after finishing high school. In the 1980s, as part of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection, a storyline that combined wrestling and music, Kai defeated Wendi Richter to become the Women's Champion. Kai, however, lost the title at the inaugural WrestleMania event. She was later paired with Judy Martin, in a tag team that would become known as The Glamour Girls. The team held the Women's Tag Team Championship twice (managed by "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart) and the LPWA Tag Team Championship once. In her later career, Kai returned briefly to the WWF in 1994, challenging for the Women's Championship at WrestleMania X. She also wrestled for World Championship Wrestling under the name Patty Stonegrinder and held the NWA World Women's Championship.

Steve Regal

Steve Regal is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association. Born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Regal started wrestling in 1977 and later achieved his biggest success in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) during the mid-1980s. During his tenure there, Regal defeated Buck Zumhofe for the AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1984. In 1985, the AWA began teaming him with "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin and, with the help of the Fabulous Freebirds, surprisingly defeated The Road Warriors to win the tag title.[2][3] Regal and Garvin lost the tag title to Curt Hennig and Scott Hall four months later. Regal also made appearances with World Class Championship Wrestling during this time period, challenging Brian Adias for the Texas Heavyweight Title. The pair then signed to wrestle with NWA Pacific Northwest Wrestling, where he held the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship twice. He vacated the title in December 1981 due to an injury. In 1986, he joined Jim Crockett Promotions and made his debut on May 17 at a house show in Baltimore, MD where he fought Denny Brown to a draw for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. They would wrestle several more times to draws during the month. Regal made his first televised appearance on the May 31st edition of NWA Worldwide, facing Rocky King. On the June 7th edition of NWA Pro Regal joined heel Jimmy Garvin in attacking Wahoo McDaniel. On June 4 he sustained his first loss, falling to Denny Brown at a house show in Raleigh, NC. Through June and July Regal continued to face Brown for the title on the Great American Bash house show summer tour; on the final night of the series he defeated Brown to win the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship in front of 12,000 at the Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GA on August 2. Regal would successfully defend his title several times in August against Brown before finally losing the championship back to him at a house show in Greensville, NC on September 1. Following a match with Hector Guerrero on September 4, he departed for the World Wrestling Federation. While with the AWA and NWA, Regal's career appeared to be on the rise, but by 1985, the WWF roster was full of large athletes and bodybuilders, and the primary focus was on brawling and personality over science. Despite his talent, Regal was used exclusively as a jobber,[5] a fate shared by many WWF wrestlers at the time who were not large bodybuilders and didn't have an over-the-top gimmick. Regal was still billed as "Mr Electricity", but did not receive the promotional vignettes that many of the other incoming wrestlers received who joined the WWF in the second half of 1986, such as Koko B. Ware, Superstar Billy Graham, Dick Slater, Outback Jack, or The Honky Tonk Man.

Larry Oliver

Larry Richard Oliver, was an American professional wrestler, known as "Crippler" Rip Oliver, who had success in NWA Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW). In Pacific Northwest Wrestling, he set a record for holding the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship more than anyone. Oliver also had many titles in tag team competition, holding the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship and the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship a combined 18 times. In 1985 Chris Adams allowed his tag team partner Gino Hernandez to defend the WCCW Television Championship against Billy Jack Haynes, where he lost that title, but Oliver defeated and severely injured Billy to win the television title soon thereafter. After wrestling in PNW, Oliver began to wrestle for the World Wrestling Federation, and worked mainly as a jobber. During his run, Oliver appeared once on Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII, going by the name of Super Ninja, challenging The Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. During his many title reigns Oliver faced many wrestlers such as Rocky Johnson, Brett Sawyer, Billy Jack Haynes, Buddy Rose, Bobby Jaggers, Stan Stasiak, Larry Hennig, Curt Hennig, Brian Adams, Jay Youngblood, Steve Regal, Roddy Piper, Tom Zenk, and Buzz Sawyer. After leaving the WWF Oliver would return to PNW in 1990. He wrestled his last match on October 12, 1991, losing the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship to Demolition Crush. In July 2016, Oliver was part of a class action lawsuit 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. US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018. In early 2020, it was revealed that Oliver had entered into hospice care due to end-stage heart failure. He died on March 5, 2020, surrounded by his family.

Masashi Ozawa

Masashi Ozawa (小沢 正志, Ozawa Masashi) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Popularly known as Killer Khan, he was billed from Mongolia and had numerous high-profile matches with André the Giant in WWE during the 1980s, including a high profile "Mongolian stretcher match". Khan used Asian mist against opponents. Ozawa's Mongolian giant character was created by Karl Gotch. He traveled to America in 1979 to wrestle. The following year, in 1980, Khan first wrestled André the Giant in a tag team match for Georgia Championship Wrestling. Later that same year, he was hired by WWE. In WWE, Khan originally feuded with WWE Champion Bob Backlund, as well as the WWE Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales. Khan was then placed in feud with André the Giant. During one match in May 1981, a kayfabe Khan kneedrop off of the top turnbuckle resulted in André the Giant breaking his ankle, as Khan accidentally landed on it. The truth was that Andre actually broke his ankle getting out of bed. The incident had been reported as real and as a storyline to help put Khan over. When Andre returned from his injury, he and Khan feuded into the next year. In November 1981 in Philadelphia Andre defeated Khan in a "Mongolian Stretcher match." The feud was named Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Feud of the Year. In 1984 in Canada's Stampede Wrestling, he had a series of matches with Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie. On January 20, 1984, he won the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship from Gouldie in a street fight. In March, he lost the title to The Dynamite Kid. Khan made a brief return to the WWF in 1987, managed by Mr. Fuji, where he feuded with Outback Jack. In addition, he had a limited house show run challenging WWF Champion Hulk Hogan. He also had successful runs as a monster heel in Mid-South Wrestling and NWA World Class Championship Wrestling. Usually managed by Skandar Akbar, the WCCW run saw him team with the Freebirds (teaching Terry Gordy the Oriental Spike), then turning on him, paid by Akbar. Khan had a role as a bodyguard in the movie 3 Ninjas Kick Back, and a cameo in 2006 Japanese special effects action series Lion-Maru G. Khan currently owns a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. He is married to Cindy Ozawa of Lutz, Florida, though the two live on separate continents. He has three children: Yukie, Yoshiko, and David Masato. All of them reside in the United States. On December 9, 2020, around 5:00 PM, Khan was involved in a hit and run at his hometown of Tokyo, Japan. According to authorities in the Shinjuku Ward, he allegedly struck a woman who was riding a bike in the Hyakunincho area, then fled the scene. The woman suffered a broken tooth in the accident and other injuries that took about a month to heal. Khan later apologized for the incident and stated that he was in a hurry to get to his restaurant. He was not charged nor prosecuted.

Khosrow Vaziri

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (Persian: حسین خسرو علی وزیری) better known by his ring name The Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and actor. He is the only Iranian champion in WWE history, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983. His villainous character peaked during the 1980s WWF wrestling boom and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan turned Hogan into one of the greatest television heroes of the decade. He later formed a tag team with Nikolai Volkoff, which won the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania event. In 2005, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. A heel throughout the 1980s, Sheik later gained popularity on Kidd Chris, The Howard Stern Show, and on the internet due to his shoot interviews, vulgar language, and his intense dislike for some of his fellow professional wrestlers, particularly Hulk Hogan.

WWF Championship Wrestling

1980

The first nationally syndicated WWE television series, Championship Wrestling features numerous WWE Hall of Famers and Legends in action.

Mike Bell

Mike Bell was an American professional wrestler who worked for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as Mike "Mad Dog" Bell. He is the brother of Mark Bell. Professional wrestling career Bell worked as a jobber for the WWF during the early 1990s and appeared on Monday Night Raw. He, however, never had a contract with the company. He later worked with ECW and appeared at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. Bell was well known amongst the wrestling community after an incident with professional wrestler Perry Saturn during a dark match in the WWF. During the match, Bell attempted a snapmare armdrag on Perry, which left Perry concussed. Perry instinctively began kicking Bell and then threw him out of the ring, causing Bell to land on his head. Bell sustained a heavy injury to his neck. Saturn then proceeded to throw Bell into a set of metal stairs, further injuring him. Personal life Bell, who had a history with substance abuse, was featured in the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster along with his two brothers. On December 14, 2008, he was found dead at a rehabilitation facility in Costa Mesa, California. Bell was 37 years old.