To date, there have been nearly 150 WWE Champions in WWE history, including repeat winners like John Cena, Triple H, and Hulk Hogan. But in addition to big names like that are smaller names — usually heels — who functioned as transitional champions to be defeated by another, more important wrestler in a matter of days or weeks. One such transitional WWE Champion was “The Russian Bear,” Ivan Koloff.
It’s likely that many modern fans don’t know much about Koloff, given that he was a transitional heel champion during the pre-Hulk Hogan days when WWE was a territorial promotion in New York. Let’s take a look at Koloff’s career, including his origins, his landmark title win, and his work in the National Wrestling Alliance.
10 Originally From Canada
It should never come as a surprise that an old-school foreign heel isn’t actually from the place they claim to be, and Ivan Koloff is no exception.
Born Oreal Donald Perras in 1942, the future Ivan Koloff grew up on a dairy farm in Ontario, where he watched wrestling as a kid and aspired to compete himself. Perras was 18 when he quit high school prematurely, instead choosing to embark on a pro wrestling career, and subsequently sought training.
9 Started Out As An Irish Heel
Oreal Perras didn’t start off as Ivan Koloff, but he still portrayed a foreign heel as an eyepatch-wearing Irishman named Red McNulty. Wrestling all over Toronto, Perras gained in-ring experience that allowed him to expand to other parts of Canada, and then branch out to not only the United States, but also Japan.
It was during his Red McNulty days that Perras also had his first run-in with his future opponent, Bruno Sammartino, taking some bad advice to attack Sammartino before the bell rang, which resulted in the legend being more rough in the ring with Perras than he would have otherwise been.
8 The Rougeaus Caused His Gimmick Change To Ivan Koloff
It was in Japan that Red McNulty made an impression on Jacques Rougeau Sr., father to Jacques Jr., best known to WWE fans as The Mountie. He not only recommended McNulty wrestle for his brother, Johnny Rougeau, but also urged him to shave his head.
McNulty’s brothers ended up obliging the request, shaving his head during a night of drinking. When he arrived in Rougeau’s Quebec territory he was given his new persona: Ivan Koloff, a kayfabe nephew of an older wrestler, Dan Koloff.
7 Beat Bruno Sammartino For The WWE Championship
Following his success in Quebec, Ivan Koloff made his way to WWE, which back then was known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Debuting in 1969 with “Captain” Lou Albano as his manager, Koloff took on Bruno Sammartino at Madison Square Garden in January 1971.
After almost 15 minutes, Koloff jumped off the top rope to deliver a knee drop to the champion, scoring a pinfall victory and ending the champion’s reign and winning his second belt ever, having captured the Montreal World Heavyweight Champion two year earlier.
6 His WWE Title Win Was A Huge Shock
At the time, Bruno Sammartino was not only the top guy in the territory, but also held the belt for 2,803 days — over seven-and-a-half years. Needless to say, Ivan Koloff dethroning a beloved champion who’s held the belt so long was a tremendous shock to fans, especially those who were in MSG at the time.
Recounting the incident, Koloff noted that the sold-out crowd went completely silent after the win, with the situation so tense that the referee urged him to just head to the back rather than receive the belt, in order to avoid a potential riot.
5 Gained A Kayfabe Nephew In Nikita Koloff
Outside WWE, Ivan Koloff spent a lot of time performing for the National Wrestling Alliance, winning championships everywhere. In the 1980s, Koloff, now in his 40s, formed his stable in Jim Crockett Promotions (which would later become WCW) called The Russians.
Alongside Krusher Kruschev and Don Kernodle was Koloff’s kayfabe nephew, Nikita Koloff. The younger Koloff would soon come into his own as a great heel, and one who would surprisingly turn face in order to take the place of Magnum TA after the car accident that ended his career.
4 Four-Time NWA World Tag Team Champion
In addition to the various regional championships in the various NWA territories, Ivan Koloff was also able to win the National Wrestling Alliance’s big belts as well, becoming a four-time World Tag Team Champion. Two of these would be alongside Nikita Koloff, as they took on babyface teams like the Road Warriors and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express.
On top of that Koloff managed to capture the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship twice — once with Kernodle and Koloff and once with the Power of Pain who became his proteges after the Russians.
3 Wrestled For ECW In Its Early Days
Before it became Extreme Championship Wrestling, 1990s upstart Eastern Championship Wrestling was no stranger to booking aging veterans like Don Muraco and Jimmy Snuka. Ivan Koloff was also a part of the promotion in its early days, and notably wrestled on ECW’s very first show, Market Street Mayhem, in February 1992.
In addition to taking on The Sandman in a couple of matches, Koloff teamed up with another kayfabe nephew, Vladimir Koloff, and together they attempted to capture the ECW Tag Team Championship.
2 Came Out Of Retirement In 2004
Ivan Koloff retired after wrestling his last match in July 1994, but ended up coming out of retirement a decade later. Until 2013, Koloff continued to wrestle, wrestling a number of Russian Chain Matches all over the indies.
One Russian Chain Match yielded a championship when he defeated his old Powers of Pain protégé, The Barbarian, for the NWA Charlotte Legends Championship. His final match, in November 2013, would be with a fellow legend, as he was defeated by “Bullet” Bob Armstrong.
1 Wrote A Book
In 2007, Ivan Koloff joined the ever-increasing number of pro wrestlers who have written books with the publication of Is That Wrestling Fake? The Bear Facts.
Co-written with Scott Teal and published by Teal’s own company, Crowbar Press, the book covers Koloff’s life and career, with stories about his wrestling days and run-ins with various notable talents over the years. Koloff also became a Born Again Christian later in life, so the book covers some of that as well.