The Ring Post: Remembering Ivan Koloff

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend. Welcome to this week's edition of The Ring Post, where you'll find the latest match results, breaking news, and engaging videos. Today, we have a special feature honoring Ivan Koloff on what would have been his 82nd birthday.

We greatly appreciate our readers and subscribers for your steadfast support. Your enthusiasm and commitment drive us to deliver the most comprehensive wrestling coverage. Thank you for being a vital part of our community!

Be sure to click on the links below to ensure you don’t miss out on all the show results, latest news, and videos.

Wrestling Results

• WWE Smackdown took place in Washington, DC on Friday night. See the results at the link.

• Friday night, Pure Pro Wrestling hosted Rock n Roll Never Forgets in Danville, VA. This event included a Tag Team Championship defense by Kerry & Ricky Morton. The results included two other title matches.

• Saturday night in Atlantic City, Game Changer Wrestling hosted night 1 of its Homecoming Weekend. There was a surprise appearance by a WWE Hall of Famer during the main event.

• Apex Professional Wrestling League held a show in Martinsburg, WV on Saturday night.

• Jersey Champion Wrestling presented Up All Night on Saturday (barely - bell time was 11:59 p.m.) in Atlantic City. It was also part of GCW’s Homecoming Weekend.

• The second night of GCW Homecoming took place Sunday night in Atlantic City and featured a main event tag team match that included Matt Hardy.

• On August 17, ATCW presented Warpath in Kearneysville, WV. Here are the results.

• Also on August 17, AXW hosted I’m Still Standing, an event in Orwigsburg, PA.

• See all of the events I wrote previews for ahead of this past weekend.

Upcoming Events

• Queens, NY: MLW presents Summer of the Beast this Thursday night at the Melrose Ballroom in NYC.

• Washington, DC: This Friday night, New Japan Pro Wrestling presents Capital Collision 2024 at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.

• Philadelphia, PA: The National Wrestling Alliance will celebrate its 76th anniversary at NWA 76 in the 2300 Arena.

The Latest News

• Baltimore native Rich Swann has been sober for two months after he was suspended by TNA last week following his June arrest for public intoxication.

• Becca Wiley reported online that she was harassed by a drunk wrestler in a locker room recently. She then was bullied by some of the worst people online after that.

Videos

• Watch Moose defend the TNA Heavyweight Championship against Demarcus Kane.

• Watch Demarcus Kane defend the MCW Championship against Mecca.

• Watch the latest episode of Frontline from WDWA.

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Born Oreal Donald Perras on August 25, 1942, in Montreal, Quebec, Koloff grew up on a dairy farm in rural Ontario with six brothers and three sisters. His passion for wrestling began at age eight, and at 18, he left high school to train under Jack Wentworth in Hamilton, Ontario, pursuing his wrestling dreams. This marked the beginning of his career.

Koloff first rose to prominence in 1971 when he defeated Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Championship, ending Sammartino’s nearly eight-year reign. Although his title reign was brief, Koloff's achievement made a significant impact in the wrestling world. Shamefully, he is not in the WWE Hall of Fame, making him the only person to have held the world title in the first 34 years of its history who is not inducted. He is also one of only two such individuals from the 20th century.

In the 1980s, Koloff made a significant mark in Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), which later became WCW. As part of "The Russians" stable, he engaged in intense feuds and tag team matches, portraying Soviet villains that fans either cheered or booed passionately. Koloff also competed in the NWA, where his "Russian Sickle" clothesline became feared.

Koloff's championships and legacy include winning the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with The Russians in December 1984. On March 18, 1985, Ivan and Nikita Koloff claimed the NWA World Tag Team Championship. His dedication, memorable feuds, and significant championships left a lasting legacy in professional wrestling.

Koloff also had a notable stint in ECW during the 1990s, where he contributed to the promotion's hardcore environment, adding to its eclectic roster.

Outside the ring, Koloff was a private individual who rarely discussed his personal life. He was married and had children, and his impact on wrestling remains his enduring legacy.

Here are some ways others have remembered him.

Mike Mooneyham wrote about Koloff several times, including a column in 2007.