King of the Ring (1994) was the second annual King of the Ring. It took place on June 19, 1994 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. "King of the Ring" is also the name of the tournament that was the focus of this pay-per-view event. Tournament to crown King of the Ring includes Bam Bam Bigelow, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon, Tatanka, 1-2-3 Kid and more. WWF Champion Bret "Hit Man" Hart defends against Intercontinental Champion Diesel. The Headshrinkers battle Yokozuna & Crush for WWF Tag Team Championship. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper takes on Jerry "The King" Lawler.
06-19-1994
2h 45m
THIS
HELLA
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Main Cast
Movie Details
Locations and Languages
Country:
US
Filming:
US
Languages:
en
Main Cast
Bret Hart
Bret Sergeant Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and retired professional and amateur wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College. Along with his famed "Hit Man" nickname, Hart's agile, technical style earned him the moniker, "The Excellence of Execution". He was also known as "The Pink and Black Attack", in reference to his ring attire, as well as his signature mirrored sunglasses, which he would routinely give away to a young audience member before matches.
Hart debuted in professional wrestling in 1978 with his father, Stu Hart's promotion, Stampede Wrestling, and enjoyed mainstream popularity and championship success throughout the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—later WWE), where he helmed the Hart Foundation, a faction of Hart family members and allies. He defected to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) following the controversial "Montreal Screwjob" in 1997, where he enjoyed continued championship success until his departure from that promotion in 2000, due to a concussion that would force his retirement that same year. Hart became the on-screen commissioner of World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) in 2001, but this role came to a premature conclusion when he suffered a 2002 stroke, which temporarily rendered him a wheelchair user. Upon recovering, he continued to make non-wrestling appearances with independent promotions throughout the remainder of the decade, and, in 2005, returned to WWE programming. Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by former on-screen rival, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the following year. He returned to sporadic in-ring competition with WWE in 2010, where he won his final championship and also briefly served as the General Manager of Raw. Hart continues to make appearances on WWE programming.
Hart has held championships in every decade from the 1970s onward, with a total of thirty-two held throughout his career, and seventeen held between the WWF/WWE and WCW. Among other accolades, he is a seven-time world champion, having held the WWF Championship five times (with the highest number of combined days as champion in the 1990s) and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice (being the first non-American born United States champion); a record-tying five-time WCW/WWE United States Champion, with his four WCW reigns being the most in the history of the organization; and the second WWF Triple Crown Champion. In addition to championships, he is the 1994 Royal Rumble winner (with Lex Luger), and the only two-time King of the Ring in WWE history, having won the 1991 tournament and the first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993. Hart has been described by WWE and WCW publications, fellow wrestlers, prominent industry figures and fans as one of the greatest, and most popular, professional wrestlers of all time.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Bret Hart, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Kevin Scott Nash is an inactive American professional wrestler and actor, who is signed to WWE. Nash has wrestled under various ring names, but is most notably known by his real name in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and in WWE/World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment, where he was known as Diesel during his first and current run with the company.
Between WWE, WCW, and TNA, Nash has won 21 total championships, including six world championships (having won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship five times and the WWF Championship once). He has achieved notable success in the tag team division as well, being a twelve-time world tag team champion: a nine-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, two-time WWF World Tag Team Champion and one-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He is also a one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion and a two-time winner of the TNA Legends Championship (now known as the TNA Television Championship). In addition to championships, he won the 1998 WCW World War 3. Nash is a member of The Kliq, a group which includes Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman and was known in the WWE during the 90's as a backstage group were shown favoritism by owner Vince McMahon and often refused to work with others outside of their group. He is also one of the three founding members of the New World Order (nWo), along with Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall.
Roderick George Toombs, better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, comedian and actor.
In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1984 and 2000. Although he was Canadian, because of his Scottish heritage he was billed as coming from Glasgow and was known for his signature kilt and bagpipe entrance music. Piper earned the nicknames "Rowdy" and "Hot Rod" by displaying his trademark "Scottish" short temper, spontaneity, and quick wit. According to The Daily Telegraph, he is "considered by many to be the greatest 'heel' (or villain) wrestler ever".
One of wrestling's most recognizable stars, Piper headlined multiple PPV events, including the WWF and WCW's respective premier annual events, WrestleMania and Starrcade. He accumulated 34 championships and hosted the popular WWF/E interview segment "Piper's Pit", which facilitated numerous feuds. In 2005, Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Ric Flair, who dubbed him "the most gifted entertainer in the history of professional wrestling".
Outside of wrestling, Piper acted in dozens of films and TV shows, most notably taking the lead role of John Nada in the 1988 cult classic They Live and a recurring role as a deranged professional wrestler called Da' Maniac on the FX comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He is also widely known for his role in Hell Comes to Frogtown as the character Sam Hell.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Roddy Piper, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Jerry O'Neil Lawler, better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since April 2020. Prior to joining WWE in 1992, he wrestled in numerous territories, winning many championships, including multiple World Heavyweight Championships, throughout his career. Lawler is a one-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion and a three-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in AWA and WCWA. He unified the titles by defeating Kerry Von Erich at AWA Super Clash III, forming the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, a championship which he held 28 times. He is also known for his feud with comedian Andy Kaufman and he portrayed himself in the 1999 film Man on the Moon. Lawler has held more recognized championships than any professional wrestler in history, though he has never won any championships in WWE having wrestled sporadically whilst primarily providing color commentary, since joining the company. In 2007, Lawler was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Solofa Fatu Jr. is a Samoan American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi (which means sumo wrestler in Japanese) with WWE, where he was a one time WWE Intercontinental Champion, two time WWE World Tag Team Champion, and one time WWE Tag Team Champion. Rikishi is a member of the famous Anoaʻi family. He is the twin brother of Sam Fatu (The Tonga Kid/Tama), and both brothers have twins. Sam is the father of twins Marley and Myracle, and Rikishi is the father of twins Jonathan and Joshua Samuel, who currently wrestle in WWE as Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso.
Rikishi is the nephew of Sika Anoaʻi and Afa Anoaʻi, known as the Wild Samoans, and his cousins in wrestling are Rodney Anoaʻi (Yokozuna), Samula Anoaʻi (Headshrinker Samu), Matt Anoaʻi (Rosey), Joe Anoaʻi (Roman Reigns), Reno Anoaʻi (Black Pearl), Afa Anoaʻi Jr. (Manu), Lloyd Anoaʻi (L.A. Smooth) and Dwayne Johnson (The Rock).
Rikishi and his wife Talisua Fuavai-Fatu have five children. Jonathan and Joshua Samuel, Jeremiah Peniata and daughter Thavana Monalisa Fatu and Joseph. He is the older brother of the late Eddie Fatu (Umaga/Jamal), who died on December 4, 2009 from heart attack.
Solofa has a scar on his abdomen from a drive by shooting in 1987. He says he died for 3 minutes in the emergency room Rikishi is a playable DLC character in the Attitude Era-themed video game WWE '13. He also appeared in WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It, WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, and WWE 2K19. Outside of the main series, he is featured in WWF No Mercy, WWF Raw, WWE Raw 2, WWE Wrestlemania X8 and WWE Wrestlemania XIX.
Fatu appeared in the Italian comedy film Natale a Miami. He also guest starred on the Nickelodeon show Victorious, as a sumo wrestler in the episode "Brain Squeezers."
Fatu appeared in the Netflix original film Sandy Wexler.
Fatu under his "Rikishi" ring name is the Samoan judge in the "Wall of the World" on the CBS show The World's Best.
Rodney Agatupu Anoaʻi was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with The World Wrestling Federation where he wrestled under the ring name Yokozuna. The termyokozuna refers to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan. Although the "Yokozuna" character was portrayed as a champion sumo wrestler, Anoaʻi had never competed as an actual sumotori. Though Yokozuna wrestled as a representative of Japan, he was of Samoan origin and was accordingly billed as hailing from Polynesia (although he was managed by Mr. Fuji, who would follow Anoaʻi to the ring with a wooden bucket of salt, and waving a Japanese flag). In the WWF, Anoaʻi was a two-time WWF Champion and two-time Tag Team Champion (with Owen Hart), as well as the winner of the 1993 Royal Rumble. Anoa'i was the first wrestler of Samoan descent to hold the WWF Championship as well as the first Royal Rumble winner who as a result of a direct stipulation received a world title shot at WrestleMania. He defeated WWE Hall of Famers Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan, in consecutive pay-per-view victories at WrestleMania IX and the1993 King of the Ring, to win his two WWF Championships. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
Brian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler. Adams is well known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), under the name Crush, and for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name. Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, Adams was a two-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, as well as a one-time holder of both the WWF World Tag Team Championship and the All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Championship, among other titles and accomplishments. In 2002, Adams briefly tried a career in boxing until he was forced to retire due to back and shoulder injuries. His cause of death was never officially confirmed.
Scott Oliver Hall was an American professional wrestler. He was known for his work within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as Razor Ramon and with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name.
Hall began his career in 1984, before rising to prominence after signing with the WWF in May 1992, assuming the name Razor Ramon. While within the company, he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship four times. He departed the company in May 1996, and subsequently defected to WCW, where he became a founding member of the New World Order (nWo) faction, along with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. In the company, he became a two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WCW World Television Champion, and a nine-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. He left WCW in February 2000, and returned to the WWF (later renamed WWE) for a short stint in 2002. He spent the rest of his career wrestling for various promotions, such as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he held the TNA World Tag Team Championship once, with Kevin Nash and Eric Young.
Although he never won a world championship in a major promotion, Hall was nonetheless a two-time world champion, as he held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship and the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a singles competitor in 2014, and again as a member of the nWo in 2020.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Scott Hall, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Scott Charles Bigelow was an American professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. During his professional wrestling career spanning twenty-one years, Bigelow worked in major wrestling promotions, including the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the original Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He was recognizable by his size of nearly 400 pounds (180 kg), and a distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most of his bald head. Bigelow held multiple championships in both ECW and WCW, and thirteen throughout his career. Among other accolades, he was a former world champion, having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once, and a two-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. Although he never held a WWF title, he headlined multiple pay-per-view events for the promotion, including WrestleMania XI. Ryan Murphy of WWE (formerly the WWF), in a 2013 publication, described Bigelow as "the most natural, agile and physically remarkable big man of the past quarter century."
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and most notably, WWE. A member of the Hart wrestling family, Hart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to Stampede Wrestling promoter and WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart and Helen Hart. Among other accolades, Hart was a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion, two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, one-time WWE European Champion and four-time WWE World Tag Team Champion. He was also the winner of the 1994 WWE King of the Ring. Although he never captured the WWE Championship, he competed for the title on multiple occasions and has been cited by a number of peers as one of WWE's most talented professional wrestlers. Hart tragically died on May 23, 1999 when an equipment malfunction occurred during his entrance from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., at WWE's Over the Edge pay-per-view event.
Christopher Chavis is a Native American professional wrestler best known for his work with WWE as Tatanka from 1991 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2007. His ring name is a Lakota word that literally means "bull buffalo." He is descended from the Lumbee Native American tribe. is a Native American professional wrestler best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment from 1991 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2007. His ring name, Tatanka, is a Lakota word that literally means "bull buffalo". He is descended from the Lumbee Native American tribe.
Chavis started competing in powerlifting, he competed in his first bodybuilding contest, Mr. Virginia Beach, placing second. He won many competitions during his time in bodybuilding, but decided against competing on the national level and possibly turning pro for personal reasons. From 1985 to 1990 he worked for Bally's Health and Tennis Corporation, becoming a Divisional Manager.
In 1987 he received many tryouts for the National Football League, from teams such as the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, and the Los Angeles Raiders. He decided to pursue a career with the Dolphins. Chavis was one of 20 hopefuls offered a deal out of approximately 2,000 tryouts. The Dolphins offered him a free agent contract with the availability to increase after the first year. He declined, however, since his income at Bally's exceeded the value of the contract.
In 1989, Chavis left Bally's to pursue an accounting career. He met "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in Florida at a video store while looking for wrestling tapes. Rogers had Chavis call Larry Sharpe, who ran a wrestling school in southern New Jersey called "The Monster Factory." He had his first match, as Tatanka, against Joe Thunderstorm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 13, 1990.
Rogers then introduced Chavis to George Scott, the booker for WWE during the 1980s. Scott was starting his own promotion called the North American Wrestling Association, later known as South Atlantic Pro Wrestling. Chavis wrestled under the name "The War Eagle" Chris Chavis and was voted 3rd runner up for Rookie of the Year in Pro Wrestling Illustrated for 1990. Also in 1990, he became The South Atlantic Heavyweight Champion by beating Ken Shamrock. Not long after, he was signed to a WWE contract. On May 2, 2014, Tatanka won the DPW Tag Team Championship along with Rick "The Prick" Dominick. They lost the titles on October 18, 2014 to Raven and Demolition Davies.
On November 3, 2015, WWE announced that they signed Tatanka to a Legends contract. On April 3, 2016, at WrestleMania 32, Tatanka competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal as a face, and was among the last to be eliminated.
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which he co-founded along with his father, Jerry. He is well-known from his multiple runs in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s. A third-generation wrestler, Jarrett has held seventy championships in various promotions throughout his career. Within TNA, he is a former six-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and is also a former four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time AAA World Heavyweight Champion. He has also accumulated five additional world title reigns, being a three-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and two-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion. He achieved notable championship success in the World Wrestling Federation, becoming a six-time Intercontinental Champion, and one of four men to hold both the Intercontinental and European Championshipssimultaneously. He is the first wrestler to be a two-time King of the Mountain, and also won Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración's (AAA) Rey de Reyes tournament in 2004. Between the WWF, WCW, and TNA, Jarrett has held twenty-two total championships as well as other numerous regional titles.
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE under their WWE Legends program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993 to 2002,World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Syxx-Pac and also under his real name. Waltman has won a dozen total championships between WWE, WCW, and TNA, with the majority of them being cruiserweight and tag team titles. He is the only wrestler in history to have held the TNA X Division Championship, the WCW Cruiserweight Championship and the WWE Light Heavyweight Championship; he also held the WWF/WCW Cruiserweight and Light Heavyweight titles simultaneously at one point. Waltman is a member of the group known in wrestling as The Kliq; which consists of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. On April 2, 2011, Waltman returned to WWE television to celebrate, with Kevin Nash and Triple H, their longtime friend Shawn Michaels' induction into the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame.
Waltman attended the Hall of Fame again, with The Kliq. On July 23, he, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg returned to join Shawn Michaels and Triple H for a D-Generation X reunion on the 1000th episode of Raw. In early 2013, The Kliq/DX reunited for an episode of NXT.
In early March 2013, Waltman signed a WWE Legends contract (a long-term contract which gives WWE merchandising rights to a wrestler's name and likeness, requires occasional appearances and prevents them from working for competing major promotions, but allows for independent appearances).
On April 5, 2014 the night before WrestleMania XXX, Waltman joined Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Kevin Nash at Scott Hall's WWE Hall of Fame induction, reuniting The Kliq.
On the January 19, 2015 episode of Raw, labelled Raw Reunion, Damien Mizdow appeared with Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall and Triple H dressed as X-Pac, only for X-Pac to confront him (finding the impersonation funny), until The Miz interrupted them to tell them that Mizdow was only his stunt double, and that the party was over. He appeared again with Hall and Nash, being interrupted by The Ascension, who were attempting to attack them, only to be joined by The APA and The New Age Outlaws in fending off The Ascension. At WrestleMania 31, X-Pac along with the New Age Outlaws and Shawn Michaels helped Triple H win his match against Sting. They were backstage at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August 2015. Waltman returned at Raw 25 and reunited with DX and Scott Hall. He also appeared at NXT TakeOver: WarGames (2018) in the crowd with his dog.
Lawrence Michael Rotunda is a former American professional wrestler, perhaps best known under the name Irwin R. Schyster or I.R.S. for short, a play on the abbreviation of the Internal Revenue Service. He works with the WWE as a road agent and makes occasional appearances on WWE shows as Irwin R. Schyster. Rotunda (as Mike Rotunda) joined All Japan Pro Wrestling in the summer of 2000, shortly after the Pro Wrestling Noah exodus. He reunited the Varsity Club, this time with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. The team won the 2000 World's Strongest Tag Determination League[13] and also challenged for the World Tag Team Championship, against Taiyō Kea and Johnny Smith on February 24, 2001, but lost. In late 2001, Rotunda returned to Team 2000 as part of the All Japan branch and returned to New Japan for one match, on October 28, teaming with Chono to defeat Tencozy. Rotunda finished the year teaming with Williams in the 2001 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, which they finished in 5th place with 6 points.
Rotunda retired from wrestling to run a security company with his wife in 2004.
Rotunda was rehired by WWE as a road agent in 2006, and has made guest appearances as Irwin R. Schyster. One such appearance was on the August 6, 2007 edition of WWE Raw; Mr. McMahon was discussing his IRS troubles with Jonathan Coachman, and when the conversation ended, Rotunda lowered the paper covering his face (Financial Times) and revealed himself.
Rotunda appeared as I.R.S. on the December 10, 2007 15th Anniversary edition of Raw, winning a 15-man Battle Royal, only to be paid by his former tag team partner Ted DiBiase to eliminate himself and I.R.S. appeared on the September 7, 2009 edition of "Raw," of which Bob Barker was the guest host. Rotunda was a contestant in a pricing game (similar to the "One Bid" qualifying segment of The Price Is Right) along with Santino Marella, Jillian Hall, and Chris Jericho, bidding on a "Best of SmackDown" DVD. Rotunda overbid $50.00 (including tax); the DVD's actual retail price was $18.99. Chris Jericho won the pricing game with a bid of $1.00 (as erroneously proclaimed by Bob Barker). I.R.S was, later that night, one of the contestants during the second round of the pricing game. A. J. Pierzynski of the Chicago White Sox filled in the vacated spot Chris Jericho held. This time the bid was for a travel package to WrestleMania XXVI in Glendale, Arizona. Rotunda bid $2,000.00 for the package. The actual retail price was $1,247.00, making Santino the winner after a bid of $1,200.00
Rotunda appeared on an episode of Monday Night Raw as a lumberjack in the "'80s Legend Lumberjack Match", in which Christian defeated Ted DiBiase
Rotunda is married to Stephanie Rotunda (née Windham), the daughter of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, and sister of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham. They have two sons, Windham and Taylor, who are professional wrestlers working for WWE under the ring names Bray Wyatt (former WWE Champion, former SmackDown Tag Team Champion with The Wyatt Family which at the time included Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Randy Orton, and former Raw Tag Team Champion with Matt Hardy) and Bo Dallas (former NXT Champion and former Raw Tag Team Champion with Curtis Axel). The couple also has a daughter named Mika and two granddaughters named Cadyn and Kendyl
Nelson Frazier, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Mabel, Viscera and Big Daddy V. He is best known for his work with WWE and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Throughout his career, he has held championships in a number of promotions, including the top titles of the United States Wrestling Association off-shoots Memphis Wrestling and Memphis Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Council promotion of Puerto Rico. He held the Hardcore and World Tag Team titles in WWE, and was the 1995 King of The Ring.
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional professional wrestler. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest managers in wrestling history, due to his extraordinary mic skills.
During his career, he has worked for the Continental Wrestling Association, Mid-South Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (now called WWE), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now called Impact Wrestling), and Ring of Honor. From 1991 to 1995, he was the owner and head booker of Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and from 1999 to 2005, was the co-owner, head booker, and head trainer of Ohio Valley Wrestling. During the later years of his career, Cornette focused primarily on backstage positions and transitioned away from his role as an on-screen manager.
In 2017, Cornette retired from managing. During a transitional period prior to the retirement, he worked as an on-screen "authority figure" character in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor, promotions where he also held backstage positions. Cornette has also had an extensive commentary career, most recently serving as a color commentator for Major League Wrestling, What Culture Pro Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance. Cornette is a member of the NWA, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Memphis, and Professional Wrestling Hall of Fames. Cornette is also noted for his long-standing real-life feud with fellow professional wrestling booker Vince Russo; in June 2017, Russo filed a restraining order (EPO) against Cornette for stalking. The Cornette vs. Russo feud has been featured on two episodes of Viceland's Dark Side of the Ring series.
Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers. Although he was billed as Japanese, he is a Japanese-American born in Hawaii.
Afa Amituana'i Anoa'i was a retired Samoan professional wrestler and manager, who appeared as one of Kenneth Togaru's henchmen that killed Charles Symington and Ali Ferrand in the episode "By Hooker by Crook" of the series Miami Vice.
Anoai got into professional wrestling in the early 1970s, trained by Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia (father and grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), then made his debut in 1971, and brought in his brother Sika Anoa'i (born 1945) and formed The Wild Samoans, a tag team that won three WWWF (precursor to today's WWE) Tag Team Championships (twice in 1980 and once in 1983), managed by Capt. Lou Albano for all of their reigns. They also held the NWA National Tag Team titles in 1982 and several other regional titles during their career. In 1983 Sika was injured and Afa brought in his son Samu, and would remain a team until 1984. The Wild Samoans broke up soon after, but Afa returned to the WWF as manager of Samu and Afa's nephew Fatu and they formed The Samoan Swat Team (in World Class—WCCW, and the NWA) before moving to the WWF and becoming The Headshrinkers, which won the WWF Tag Team Titles once before Afa retired in 1994. He then trained new pro wrestlers at the Wild Samoans Academy, and in 2007 he and Sika were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Anoa'i's only acting credits besides Vice was in the movies Body Slam and Mr. Nanny.
Anoa'i married his wife Lynn in 1970, and have five children; their three sons, Samula "Samu", Afa, Jr. "Manu", and Lloyd "L.A. Smooth", all became pro wrestlers, and two daughters, Monica and Lynn.
Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995. Throughout his 42-year career, Albano guided 15 different tag teams and four singles competitors to championship gold. Albano was part of the "Triumvirate of Terror," a threesome of nefarious WWF managers that also included The Grand Wizard of Wrestling and Freddie Blassie. The trio would be fixtures in the company for a decade, until the Grand Wizard's death in 1983. A unique showman, with an elongated beard, rubber band facial piercings, and loud outfits, Albano was the forefather of the 1980s Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection. Collaborating with Cyndi Lauper, Albano helped usher in wrestling's crossover success with a mainstream audience. Capitalizing on his success, he later ventured into Hollywood with various television, film, and music projects. He became well-known to a new generation of fans as the actor and voice of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! In 1953, Albano married his high school sweetheart, Geraldine Tango. The marriage lasted 56 years, until his death. Albano has been noted by several others for his faithfulness to his wife, a rare characteristic in the on-the-road world of 1970s and 1980s professional wrestling.
Albano released his autobiography, Often Imitated, Never Duplicated, on July 20, 2008 through his website. The book includes a foreword by Cyndi Lauper.
The other Albano siblings are Vincent, George, Eleanor, and Carl, all of whom became teachers. Albano's brother, Carl, taught health for 32 years at Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and was head of the Ridgewood High health department from 1974 until 2001. Carl's students have noted that he used his brother Lou as an example of the difference between crazy and unique. George served as the Principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Mount Vernon, New York and often brought Lou in to delight the school's students during their lunch hour. Vincent was an art teacher and lived part-time in a lake house in Connecticut. Eleanor was a music teacher for preschool students in Connecticut and impacts the lives of countless students through music.
Albano's son, Carl Albano, has been a member of the Putnam County Legislature since 2011.
During the 1990s, Albano shed 150 pounds (70 kg) following a health scare. In May 2005, Albano suffered a heart attack, but later recovered. Albano was sent home from the hospital and again began watching his health.
The song "Captain Lou" by Kimya Dawson is dedicated to him.
In 1983 the band NRBQ wrote a song about Albano called "Captain Lou." Albano was featured as a singer on that song as well on another called "Boardin' House Pie." Both of these songs appear on NRBQ's Tap Dancin' Bats compilation, their Lou and Q spoken-word comedy record, as well as their out-of-print, hard-to-find single which Albano used to sell at his wrestling matches.
Albano died on October 14, 2009 of a heart attack while residing in hospice care.He was 76 years old.
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, better known by his ring name, Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestling personality, television presenter and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he has served as an ambassador for the company since December 2010. Michaels wrestled for WWE, from 1988 until his first retirement in 1998, owing to a severe back injury. He appeared in non-wrestling roles from 1998 to 2000 and resumed his wrestling career in 2002 until retiring ceremoniously in 2010. In the WWE, Michaels headlined major pay per view events in four decades from the 1980s to the 2010s, closing the company's premier annual event WrestleMania on five occasions
Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011. Following Michaels' induction, WWE said of Michaels, "Ask any Superstar on the WWE roster who the most gifted sports-entertainer of all time is and nearly everyone will have the same answer Shawn Michaels." Michaels is a four time world champion: a three-time WWF Champion and a former World Heavyweight Champion. He was also the winner of the 1995 and 1996 Royal Rumbles and was the company's first Grand Slam Champion. He has also won the PWI Match of the Year Award a record eleven times. Michaels currently resides in San Antonio, Texas with his wife, Rebecca, and their two children.
American-Canadian professional wrestler, better known as Luna Vachon. Over the course of her 22-year career, she wrestled for promotions such as the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), Extreme Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, and World Championship Wrestling. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2019. Luna was honored in April 2009 at the 44th annual Cauliflower Alley Club reunion, given the "Ladies Wrestling Award" in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of her fondest memories about the wrestling business was being able to visit children as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. After her retirement, Luna took an interest in fellow Canadian wrestlers and especially monitored the career of Nattie Neidhart, the daughter of fellow wrestler and friend Jim Neidhart.
Around Christmas 2009, Vachon's house was destroyed by a fire in which she lost her wrestling-related memorabilia and other possessions. After the fire, she stayed at her mother's home and joined her father and his third wife Dee on a cruise in February 2010. The fire prompted a call from fellow wrestler and friend Mick Foley (and others) to fans to send Luna-related memorabilia to Vachon's post office box. Foley also suggested that TNA bring her in to manage Tommy Dreamer at the Hardcore Justice pay-per-view in August 2010, but Vachon turned down the offer, stating that she had retired.
On the morning of August 27, 2010, she was found dead by her mother at her home in Pasco County, Florida. She was 48 years old. According to the District Six Medical Examiner's Office in Florida, she died from an "overdose of oxycodone and benzodiazepine". Investigators previously found crushed pill residue and snorting straws at multiple locations inside Vachon's house. Vachon became addicted to medication at some point and underwent rehabilitation, paid for by WWE, which she completed in June 2009.
She was cremated after her death and her ashes were scattered at the ranch formerly owned by her close friend André the Giant in Ellerbe, North Carolina
