Allen Coage

Allen Coage
Born	October 22, 1943 New York, New York
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	"Buffalo" Allen Coage Bad News Allen Bad News Brown
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight	260 lb (118 kg)
Billed from	Harlem, New York
Trained by	Antonio Inoki
Debut	October 23, 1977

Olympic medal record
Men's Judo
	1976 Montreal	Heavyweight

Allen Coage (AKA Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen) was an American professional wrestler with the WWF among many other companies. He is also the 1976 Olympic Bronze Medal winner within Judo representing the United States, in the Heavyweight division. Wrestling fans know him best as Bad News Brown, but he had that nickname before entering the squared circle.

Career

After short stints with New Japan Pro Wrestling and the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation, Bad News Allen found a long-term home in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, centered in Allen's homecity of Calgary. Allen would remain with Stampede from 1982 until 1988, with some tours of Australia during that time, and would have matches with wrestlers like The Dynamite Kid and Owen Hart. He often refered to himself in interviews as "the Ultimate Warrior," a name that was later used by another wrestler. It was during his time with Stampede that Coage would meet his wife, Helen.

Allen returned to the World Wrestling Federation in 1988 as Bad News Brown, and it was during this time that he would achieve his greatest notoriety. While the roster was mostly filled with ultra-virtuous babyfaces and cowardly and monster heels, Bad News was something entirely different; a tough loner who stood on his own and fought to his last breath. While booked as a heel, Bad News Brown was more a tweener, and his character would become the template for later characters such as Stone Cold Steve Austin. Some memorable moments from his WWF tenure included winning the battle royal at WrestleMania IV by sneak-attacking and eliminating Bret Hart, feuding with Roddy Piper (starting before the Royal Rumble 1990 and culminating at Wrestlemania VI) and with Jake the Snake Roberts (where Bad News had a sewer rat against Jake's snake) along with other moments like attacking WWF President Jack Tunney on The Brother Love Show. Bad News would eventually leave the WWF in 1990 due to, as he claims, Vince McMahon's failure to live up to his promises.

Coage continued to work in independent promotions for several more years, including Japan's stiff-style UWFi promotion. Coage retired in 1998 due to knee damage. He is currently living in Calgary with his wife. He still occasionally works indy shows for friends, and is considering starting a promotion himself. Additionally, he teaches wrestling, and works as a security officer in Airdrie, Alberta.

In wrestling

• Quotes: "Its gonna be good news for me, and baaaad news for 19 other turkeys, cause I'm gonna prevail just like on the streets of Harlem."

"I don't need any friends, and I don't want any friends!"

He also referred to fans as "beer-bellied sharecroppers".

Finishing and signature moves

• Ghetto Blaster (Enzuigiri)

Championships and accomplishments

• The Olympics
  • 1-time Olympic Bronze medal winner (Judo, Heavyweight class)
  • 2-time Pan-American Games Gold medal winner
• Professional wrestling
  • World Wrestling Federation
    • Winner Wrestlemania IV battle royal
  • National Wrestling Alliance
    • 1-time NWA Florida Bahamas Champion
    • 1-time NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion
    • 3-Times NWA Americas Tag Team
    • 1-time NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • PWI ranked him # 187 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
  • Stampede Wrestling
    • 2-time Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champion
  • Other Titles
    • 1-time ICW Heavyweight Champion
    • 1-time IWA Heavyweight Champion

External links

• Allen Coage/Bad News Allen's page at ObsessedWithWrestling.com
• Bad News Allen's official site
• Bad News Allen's profile at Slam! Wrestling's Canadian Hall of Fame
• A June 2005 article on Allen Coage at Slam! Wrestling