Wladek Kowalski

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Killer Kowalski
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Tarzan Kowalski The Masked Executioner The Masked Destroyer Killer Kowalski
Billed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Billed weight	275 lbs (132 kg)
Born	October 13, 1926 (1926-10-13) (age 81) Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Resides	Malden, Massachusetts
Trained by	Lou Thesz
Debut	1947
Retired	1977

Wladek "Killer" Kowalski (born October 13, 1926) is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is a 1 time NWA Calgary Canadian Champion and has won many other championships.

He is also famous for training many new professional wrestlers; his school operates to the present day.

Contents 1 Career 2 Personal life 3 Finishing and signature moves 4 Championships and accomplishments 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Career

Wladek (aka Walter) Kowalski wrestled from 1947 to 1977 in a number of organizations, including the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and American Wrestling Association (AWA). Always a fearsome heel, the genuinely intimidating Kowalski stood a good deal taller than most of his opponents and was known for a mean, unrelenting attack on any and all comers. Kowalski became the main antagonist of Bruno Sammartino in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the 1960s & 1970s.

Most famously, in a 1954 match in Montreal versus Yukon Eric, Kowalski kicked his opponent in the side of the head, causing Yukon Eric's ear to fall off and roll around the ring. In reality, Eric's ears were already badly caulifloured due to years of abuse and the injury was an accident, but it fortified Kowalski as being a ruthless villain who ripped his opponents' ear off. Further, Kowalski attempted to visit his opponent in the hospital and began laughing along with Eric at how silly the bandages looked, with Kowalski recalling years later, "I swear, the first thing I thought of was Humpty Dumpty on the wall. Yukon Eric looked at me, shook his head, and smiled. I started laughing and he laughed, too.". When the incident was reported in the paper the next day, it stated that Kowalski showed up at the hospital and laughed at his victim rather than with him, furthering Kowalski's image as a heel. [1].

On May 11, 1976, Kowalski won the WWWF Tag Team Title with Big John Studd. Both men wore black masks and tights and called themselves The Executioners.

In 1967, the top-rated talk show host Don Lane irritated Kowalski during an apparently friendly interview and was attacked with the Kowalski claw hold - Lane needed medical assistance and was off the show for a week.

After his retirement Kowalski started the very successful Killer Kowalski's professional wrestling school. Among the alumni of this school are Perry Saturn, John Kronus, Triple H, Chyna, and Big John Studd. Kowalski has also trained Damien Kane, Chris Nowinski, A-Train, April Hunter, Frankie Kazarian, Nikki Roxx, and Kenny Dykstra.

He also made numerous post-retirement television appearances including Late Night with David Letterman in 1982, and was featured in a comic role in Michael Burlingame's surrealist film To a Random in 1986. "Lost in the B-Zone," a music video for Birdsongs of the Mesozoic which was derived from this film also prominently featured Kowalski.

Kowalski claims to be the only vegetarian in professional wrestling.

He is a member of the Wrestling Hall of Fame. On June 14, 2007, Kowalski was inducted into The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. [2]

[edit] Personal life

Kowalski got married for the first time to a woman named Theresa on June 19, 2006.^[1]

Kowalski is currently in a rehabilitation center in Massachusetts recovering from a knee injury, according to a blog on BaltimoreSun.com April 18. The Sun received the report on Kowalski from his friend, another wrestling legend, Bruno Sammartino.

[edit] Finishing and signature moves

• Killer Clutch (Skull clutch submission)
• Diving knee drop
• Dropkick
• Piledriver

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

• Atlantic Athletic Commission
  • AAC World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[2]

• Central States Wrestling
  • NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[3]
  • NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bulldog Austin^[4]
  • NWA Iowa Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ripper Daniels^[5] (First and Only)

• Championship Wrestling from Florida
  • NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[6]

• International Wrestling Alliance
  • IWA World Heavyweight Championship (5 times)^[7]
  • IWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Skull Murphy (2), Bill Miller (1), and Mark Lewin (1)^[8]

• Montreal Athletic Commission
  • MAC World/International Heavyweight Championship (12 times)^[9]

• NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
  • NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)^[10]

• NWA All-Star Wrestling
  • NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times) - with Ox Anderson (1) and Gene Kiniski (1)^[11]

• NWA Hollywood Wrestling
  • NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[12]
  • NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Kinji Shibuya^[13]

• NWA San Francisco
  • NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time)^[14]
  • NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time) - with Hans Herman^[15]

• Southwest Sports, Inc. | Big Time Wrestling
  • NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)^[16]
  • NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time)^1[17]

• Stampede Wrestling
  • NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version) (2 times)^[18]
  • NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (2 times) - with Jim Wright^2[19]

• World Wide Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)^[20]
  • WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Gorilla Monsoon^[21]
  • WWWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Big John Studd^[22]

• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2002)

• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
  • (Class of 2003)^[23]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

¹Defeated Duke Keomuka and Danny Hodge in a handicap match to win the title.
²Wrestled under the name of the Masked Destroyer when winning this title.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Killer Kowalski
• Interview with Killer Kowalski
• To a Random Pt. I
• To a Random Pt. II
• Lost in the B-Zone
• Wladek Kowalski at IMDb