Ivan Koloff
Ivan Koloff "The Russian Bear" is the stage name of a former Canadian professional wrestler Oreal Perras. He was born August 25, 1942, and raised on a dairy farm in Canada. He came from a family of seven boys and three girls with Oreal being a middle child. He became the third man to win the WWE Championship.
Profile
- Height: 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
- Weight: 248 - 295 lb (112 kg)(Ivan lost weight in his later career)
- Birthday: August 25, 1942
- Hometown: Montreal, Quebec
- Other Gimmicks: Red McNulty, "The Russian Bear"
- Managers: Paul Jones, Gene Anderson, Johnny Valiant, The Saint, Bert Prentice, Lou Albano, Tony Angelo, Kevin Casey, Oliver Humperdink, Freddie Blassie, Karl Kovac, Gary Hart, Adnan El Kassey
- Finishing Move: Russian Sickle, Russian Bearhug
Career
After watching professional wrestling on TV since he was eight years old, Perras so wanted to become a pro wrestler that he wrestled with his chores on the dairy farms well as with his brothers. At age 18 he left school and joined Jack Wentworth's wrestling school in Hamilton, Ontario, with his training including weightlifting and wrestling holds. He then debuted as an Irish rogue heel character named Red McNulty, claiming to be from Dublin, Ireland, with a patch over one eye.
For the next three years Oreal Perras wrestled around the Toronto area, eventually quitting his regular job to wrestle in the Northwest area. It was there Perras acquired his wrestling experience and afterwards made his first trip to Japan.
In 1967, Ivan Koloff, the Russian Bear was born and debuted in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, becoming the Canadian Heavyweight Champion. The next 31 years consisted of traveling to Europe, Japan, Australia, West Indies, and Puerto Rico, as well as the United States. He soon got his debut match against Bruno Sammartino on TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1971 Perras, wrestling as The Russian Bear, Ivan Koloff defeated Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship with a knee drop, ending Sammartino's seven year reign. He would lose the title a short time later to Pedro Morales, essentially being used as a "transitional" champion, much like Stan Stasiak and the Iron Sheik would be in later years.
In the 1980s, Ivan had great success in the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions. He won the NWA World Tag Team Championship and the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship while there. He was also instrumental in the success of his "nephew" Nikita Koloff, helping to train him and make him a star. His regular partners during his NWA stay were Ray Stevens, Don Kernodle, Nikita Koloff and Krusher Khruschev. When Nikita turned on him to join his enemy Dusty Rhodes in 1986, he teamed with Vladimir Petrov and Dick Murdoch to get revenge. His biggest feuds were against Rhodes, the Road Warriors, the Rock 'N Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) and Magnum T.A..
Perras spent time in Paul Jones' Army in 1988 and he was a "coach" of sorts for the Powers of Pain, The Barbarian and The Warlord. He split with Jones, reuniting with nephew Nikita, and feuded with Jones' team of the Russian Assassins before leaving Jim Crockett Promotions in January 1989.
On the independent circuit, in which he is still very active to this day, he had notable feuds with Chief Wahoo McDaniel, Jimmy "Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant, & Mean Marc Ash.
Retirement
Currently, Perras lives in Greenville, North Carolina with his wife, Renae and has four adult children. He remains active in various charities (he was known away from the ring as a nice easygoing person despite his vicious bad guy image). He is currently writing a book called Is That Wrestling Fake? The Bare Facts which is scheduled for an October release.
Perras became a born again Christian in 1996. He travels to churches to share his testimony.
Wrestler(s) Managed
Championships/Accomplishments
- 4-Time NWA World Tag Team Champion (with Nikita Koloff, Krusher Khruschev, Ray Stevens and Don Kernodle)
- 2-Time NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champion (with Nikita Koloff & Krusher Khruschev (& Baron Von Raschke with Krusher injured) and The Barbarian & The Warlord)
- 2-Time NWA United States Tag Team Champion (with Krusher Khruschev and Dick Murdoch).
- 3-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Champion
- 4-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champion (with Don Kernodle)
- 5-Time NWA Florida Tag Team Champion (with Pat Patterson once, Masa Saito 3 times and Nikolai Volkoff once).
- 1-Time NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion
- 7-Time NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion (with Ole Anderson 5 times, Alexis Smirnoff twice)
Other titles
- 1-Time IWA Tag Team Champion (with Mad Dog Maurice Vachon)
- 1-Time Canadian Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time WWA Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time WWC Puerto Rican Champion
- 1-Time VWA Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time ACW Tag Team Champion (with Vladimir Koloff)
- 1-Time Great Lakes Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time CREW Heavyweight Champion
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 212 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked in the best tag teams of the "PWI Years", # 60 with Gene Anderson, # 64 with Nikita Koloff and # 85 with Ray Stevens.
Sources
- Wrestling With God by Chad Bonham, 2001, ISBN 1-58919-935-9, pp.179-197.
External links
Official Website: http://www.ivankoloff.com