Corporal Kirchner
 | Template:Wikify is deprecated. Please use a more specific cleanup template as listed in the documentation. |
| Thomas Spear | |
|---|---|
| File:Kirch150.jpg | |
| Died | October 15, 2006 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | R.T. Reynolds Cpl. Kirchner Cpl. Kirschner Super Leather Leatherface |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Billed weight | 253 lb (115 kg) |
| Debut | 1980 |
Thomas Spear was a professional wrestler. Early in his career he was known as Corporal Kirchner (also spelled Kirschner) and is known in North America for his brief feud with Nikolai Volkoff in the WWF in 1986. He was considered one of the toughest men in the WWF at the time and his career suffered because many wrestlers were afraid to to work with him. He was terminated by the WWF and allegedly assaulted Vince McMahon in the process. He then made a successful wrestling career for himself in Japan.
He sought out a wrestling career in Japan, using the Super Leather and Leatherface gimmicks.
His career in Japan was as the masked Leatherface, utilizing the mask and character of the villain of the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He originally wrestled for Atsushi Onita's FMW promotion and was considered by many to be the toughest hardcore wrestler in FMW. He was put into jail for six months following an attempted assault by a fan, which left the fan with severe facial injuries. During his brief time in jail, the Leatherface character which Kirschner created was given to another wrestler, Rick Patterson, who eventually left FMW and went to IWA. During his stint in IWA, Kirschner was released from prison, and during a subsequent Leatherface (Patterson) match in IWA, the original Leatherface (Kirschner) appeared in the crowd. This set up the team of the Leatherfaces, which lasted only one match and was intended as a transition of the character away from Patterson. On December 13, 1994, the Leatherfaces faced two popular wrestlers, Shoji Nakamaki and Hiroshi Ono in a Double Hell Deathmatch where a Bed of Nails was used. In a match that would become legendary among hardcore wrestling fans, Kirschner ripped off a piece of the bed of nails and placed it on Ono's throat, before performing a leg-drop. He then powerbombed Ono onto the bed of nails. Kirschner afterward left the promotion. After his departure, the promotion claimed that he was fired in an attempt to salvage Ono's destroyed reputation.
In 2001, Kirschner was announced as a participant in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven. The WWF went as far as to picture him in a graphic on WWF.com promoting the match, however Kirschner was removed weeks before the event.
In 2005, ECWA Super 8 Tournament finalist Andrew Ryker said Kirschner was his inspiration for getting into the wrestling business.
Kirschner is well remembered among children of the 1980s due to his inclusion in the WWF Wrestling Superstars action figure line by LJN. His figure had three variations which included clean shaven, stubble, and full-bearded versions. The figure is often mistakenly identified by misinformed sellers on eBay as Sgt. Slaughter.
Kirschner died on Sunday, October 15, 2006, of natural causes at his home in White Marsh, Maryland. He is survived by his two sons, daughter and step-daughter, as well as two grandchildren.