While in junior high school, Koloff began weightlifting. Koloff would travel the roads with his stablemates Ivan Koloff and Don Kernodle, learning about psychology and other essentials from his more experienced partners and arriving at shows hours beforehand so he could also learn and practice physical in-ring techniques. Stillwater, OK 74075 [18][16], Koloff had an "evil" appearance with a black singlet, shaved head, and goatee. In December 1984, Jim Crockett rewarded the Russians with theWCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts At WrestleWar on May 17, 1992, Koloff teamed with Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, and Dustin Rhodes to face The Dangerous Alliance in a WarGames match. In the 80s, good wrestlers hopped around promotions fairly frequently, but Koloff never stepped foot in the WWE. He returned to WCW as a special guest referee atWrestleWar '89in match for theWCW World Tag Team ChampionshipbetweenThe Road WarriorsandMike Rotundaand"Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Koloff lost to Flair and was even attacked by a fan during the match. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestling heels, or villains, of all time. The year 1986 brought a major singles feud for Nikita Koloff when he challenged fast-rising babyface Magnum TA for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. Among his in-ring achievements, he was a 1x NWA National Heavyweight Champion, a 1x NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, an NWA (Mid-Atlantic) 6-Man Tag Team Champion, a 2x NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Champion and a 1x NWA World Television Champion. His improvement negated the need for Kernodle to continue teaming with Ivan and, shortly thereafter, the Russians turned on the American turncoat. [5] Now a babyface, Ivan reunited with Nikita to feud with the Assassins. His first title would come in the summer of 1984 when he, Ivan Koloff and Don Kernodle captured the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. On that night, the Super Powers were born, and it was the perfect pairing: The American Dream and The Russian Nightmare. By Rex Ivanovic Mar 19, 2013, 2:57pm EDT. ", Our Mission: To honor the sport of wrestling by preserving its history, recognizing extraordinary individual achievements, and inspiring future generations, 405 West Hall of Fame Avenue TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. A complete newcomer to pro wrestling with absolutely no training, Nikita Koloffs first wrestling match lasted a little over 10 seconds, with following bouts all being quick squashes. He gives his time to motivating others, living a Christian life and talking about character and development. All Rights Reserved. He was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame of 2008. 80. Im very humbled by that.. He was given the singles main event when he wrestled NWA World Champion Ric Flair at the final Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament. Further education would come from other greats that he shared a ring with, including Ricky Steamboat, Baron Von Raschke, and even Ric Flair. Koloff wrestled briefly in Puerto Rico for World Wrestling Council (WWC) and engaged in some bouts with Hercules Ayala. Expecting it to happen energizes your goal and actually gives it momentum. Later, he went from a superstar to a man of God. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. This ended Koloff's reign of nearly eleven months. Nikita Koloff The Brevity of Life It's Time to Man Up! April Babb, who co-pastors CSRA Worship Center with her husband, Paul, said they are excited to have Koloff speak. Lifetime. Alongside Nidia Guenard, Huffman was the You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on. The worked injury set up the pretext for dropping the US Title to Lex Luger. Koloff was originally billed as being a Russian. He attacked Lex Luger, claiming he had "stolen" the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from him in 1987 and that he wanted it back. Listen as he shares his passion and God's providence. Nikita Koloff vs tully Blachard 8 29 87. Born Nelson Simpson in Minneapolis, Nikita Koloff he legally changed his real name to his ring name in the late 80s spent his teenage years in a nearby suburb called Robbinsdale. This evening established Koloff as one of the top faces in WCW. Ivan and Krusher lost the titles toThe Rock 'n' Roll Express(Ricky MortonandRobert Gibson) on July 9. One of his teammates at Golden Valley Lutheran was Joe Laurinaitis, whod later be known as Animal of the legendary tag team The Road Warriors. [5], Koloff graduated from high school in 1977. MACW TV-Taping - Event @ Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA. During this period he had rivalries with Lex Luger, Sting, and Rick Rude, often for his old United States Heavyweight Championship. During one bout, Koloff sustained a cut to the arm when an audience member threw a spark plug at him.[8]. [1] However, the Assassins and Jones turned on Koloff after he lost a Russian Chain match to Ricky Morton at Clash of the Champions III: Fall Brawl. He attacked Lex Luger, claiming he had "stolen" the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship from him in 1987 and that he wanted it back. On a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Koloff addressed the possibility of wrestling one last match in the same way Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat both did. Nikita Koloff's dedication to his gimmick! He learned Russian and refused to come out of character, even when away from the ring. The era of evil Russian heels was coming to an end. And regardless of your beliefs, that's a lesson we should all live by. Ivan invoked the Freebird rule which dictated that any two of the three could defend the titles. He went from a hated heel to a beloved babyface. During this period, Koloff had altered his appearance somewhat, dropping some muscle mass and growing his hair out into a crewcut. Waterloo, Iowa 50701 Koloff, who retired from the ring in late 1992, appeared on . Then tragedy would strike. And I look back, of course back in the days with magazines before the internet and all that, they were touting the Hulk Hogan vs. Nikita Koloff WrestleMania, 'what would happen if?' The title was also won after Georgia Championship Wrestling was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions. The AU Review. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Wrestling/NikitaKoloff. The Russian Assassins were victorious. He might have retired from the ring in 1992 . A devout Christian, Nikita and his wife, Victoria, live in Concord, NC. Koloff lost to Flair and was even attacked by a fan during the match, but he established himself as a superstar in the wrestling business. The dreams you choose to believe in come to be. Without it, you life will echo emptiness. The fans in Charlotte erupted when Koloff entered the cage to help Rhodes. Koloff and Taylor were booked to face each other in a unification bout at StarrCade '87, but Koloff vowed to get his TV belt back before the match. Please logout and login again. Published March 22, 1998. Stepping out showing men the Kingdom of God and His Love. RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Wrestling Legend Ivan Koloff. The feud was often fought in steel cage Russian chain matches, with lights-out stipulations. He explained on WCW's syndicated shows that he had seen the error of attacking Sting. The pair would battle the Horsemen in War Games and also win the Crockett Cup. Sharing a common enemy in The Four Horsemen, Koloff rescued Rhodes from a vicious attack. The two were then booked in a best-of-seven series, which took place during The Great American Bash 1986 tour. Nikita Koloff was born in Minneapolis as Scott Simpson. While at the same time, the flip side of that is Im in, I think, some veryby my own standardsrare air The rare air is Im probably one of the few guys that retired and has actually stayed retired and not done a one-off or tried to get one more big payday or more big cheer from the fans., So I guess, for me, coming to a place like Baltimore [at the Celebfest convention] and meeting the fans therethat satisfies my interest. While at the same time, the flip side of that is I'm in, I think, some veryby my own standardsrare air. But it was during this time that Nikita Koloff became a champion of his faith. At this point, Nikita was at the height of his career. On July 11, 1987 Koloff faced Luger in a steel cage match and was defeated after being hit with a chair. In October 1986, Magnum T. A. was involved in a career-ending car accident. Your login session has expired. [14] he was also known as "The Russian Road Warrior" due to his power and ferocity, which was compared to The Road Warriors. Then came Wrestling with Success: Developing a Championship Mentality in 2004, a self-help book that uses Koloffs wrestling career as a springboard for more generalized advice about success. I was a huge Koloff fan. He was billed as the nephew of fellow faux-Russian Ivan Koloff, from whom he took his ring name. During television promos, Nikita stood behind Ivan and Kernodle with his arms folded while they took interviews. At SuperBrawl Ion May 19, 1991, Koloff accidentally hitStingwith a chain while interfering in a tag team match betweenSting and Lex LugerandThe Steiner Brothers. The Koloffs went on to regain the NWA World Tag Team title from the Rock 'N Roll Express three months later, on October 13, but lost it to the same opponents on November 28 at StarrCade 1985 in a steel cage match. National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. Dusty Rhodes booked Koloff to rebound quickly, winning the NWA World Television Championship from Tully Blanchard on August 27.[11]. It's the first step towards attaining your destiny. He met Vince McMahon only twice: first time while working out in a gym in Las Vegas, Nevada (they shook hands and said "hello") and again at Road Warrior Hawk's funeral. Nikita Koloffs stated motivation was out of a newfound respect for Magnum TA. The couple had two daughters together, Kendra, who was born in June 1992, and Kolby, who was born in May 1996, while Victoria had two daughters (Teryn and Tawni) from her previous relationship. He also runs his own small wrestling promotion, the Universal Wrestling Alliance UWA as an outreach of his ministry. "My wife had been diagnosed with cancer at the age of 24. He debuted on June 5, 1984 and won his first match in thirteen seconds. Rhodes needed a partner to take on Ole Anderson and J. J. Dillon in a cage match. had a bitter rivalry, T.A. With Kernodle out of the picture, Uncle Ivan Koloff introduced a new comrade named Krusher Khruschev. However, Koloffs in-ring career lasted less than a decade and involved zero time spent in WWE, so its likely many modern fans don't know much about him if they know of him at all. Nikita Koloff was born in Minneapolis as Scott Simpson. Three months later, on March 18, 1985, Koloff and Ivan defeatedDusty RhodesandManny Fernandezto win theWCW Tag Team Championships. Have the courage to follow your dreams. Read The Return of Edge by with a free trial. The title was also won after Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation promotion was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions. During the interview Koloff addressed why he had stepped away from WCW in the late 1980's. So, I had made up my mind that I [was going to] retire and walk away from active wrestling, and [with] no regrets. was stripped of his title. In December 1984, Jim Crockett rewarded the Russians with the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on eWrestlingNews.com. Please click this line if you do not care and want to view it anyway. He stepped away from active competition in 1992 to become an ordained minister. The two fought to a double disqualification at StarrCade '86 on November 26. v1.0: Stats/Moveset/Logic ported from the Lord Worm FPR Edit . He played college football and was dreaming of an NFL career when injuries sidelined him. 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