Oreal Perras
Ivan Koloff 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 Ivan being a middle child.
Table of contents |
Profile
- Height: 5'10"
- Weight: 248 lbs.
- Birthday: August 25, 1942
- Hometown: Montreal, Quebec
- Other Gimmicks" Red McNolte
- 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
Career
After watching professional wrestling on TV since eight years old, Ivan so wanted to become a pro wrestler that he wrestled with his chores on the dairy farm, dreaming of the day he would make his dream come true. Ivan not only wrestled with chores but also wrestled his brothers.
Upon leaving school at 18 years old, Perras finally made it to Jack Wentworth's wrestling school in Hamilton, Ontario. After a year of training – weightlifting and learning all the holds – Ivan became Red McNulty, an Irish rogue, who hailed from Dublin, Ireland wearing a patch over his eye and wrestled as a heel.
For the next three years Oreal Perras wrestled around the Toronto area, eventually quitting his regular job to wrestle in the Northwest area. Perras there acquired his wrestling experience and got 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 which was against Bruno Sammartino on TV in Pittsburgh, Pa. In 1971 "Ivan Koloff" beat Bruno Samartino for the WWWF world heavyweight title.
In the 1980's, 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 team 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..
He spent time in Paul Jones' Army in 1988 and was a "coach" of sorts for the Powers of Pain, The Barbarian and The Warlord. He split with Jones and feuded with Jones' team of the Russian Assassins before leaving Jim Crockett Promotions in January 1989.
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 always known away from the ring as a nice easygoing person despite his vicious bad guy image).
Perras became a born again Christian in 1996 and today travels to churches to share his testimony in hopes of saving others from a lifetime of destruction from sin such as alcohol and drugs.
Championships/Accomplishments
World Wide Wrestling Federation
- 1-Time WWWF World Heavyweight Champion
- 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 when 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
Other Titles
- 1-Time IWA Tag Team Champion (with Mad Dog Maurice Vachon)
- 1-Time Canadian Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time WWA Heavyweight Champion
- 5-Time Florida Tag Team Champion (with Pat Patterson once, Masa Saito 3 times and Nikolai Volkoff once).
- 1-Time Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion
- 7-Time Georgia Tag Team Champion (with Ole Anderson 5 times, Alexis Smirnoff twice)
- 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 three of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years". He was # 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