| Michael Kirchner | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Axe[1] Colonel Kirchner[1][2] Corporal Kirchner[1] Freddie Krueger[1] Leatherface[1][2] RT Reynolds[1][2] Super Leather[1][2] Super Leather Face[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 253 lb (115 kg)[1] |
| Born | September 7, 1957 [1] Chicago, Illinois[1][2][3] |
| Billed from | Fort Bragg, North Carolina (as Corporal Kirchner) Texas (As Leatherface / Super Leather) |
| Debut | 1980[1][2] |
Michael Penzel[2][3] (born September 7, 1957) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Corporal Kirchner and for competing in Japan under the ring name Leatherface.[4][5]
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After working as talent enhancement for the World Wrestling Federation under the name RT Reynolds, Kirchner was eventually given the character of a military hero after promoter Vince McMahon discovered that he had been in the 82nd Airborne. Kirchner then adopted the ring name Corporal Kirchner and used a militaristic character. He is known in North America for his brief feud with Nikolai Volkoff in the World Wrestling Federation in 1986, which included a victory over Volkoff at WrestleMania 2 in a Flag Match. He was considered one of the toughest men in the WWF at the time and as a result, his career suffered because many wrestlers were afraid to work with him. He was suspended by the WWF for testing positive for drug use in 1987. When his suspension ended, he declined to return and left the company. Kirchner followed his WWF run with a brief run in the Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While there he was known as Col. Kirchner.[3]
In 2001, Kirchner was announced as a participant in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven. The WWF went as far as to picture him in a graphic on WWF.com promoting the match, yet Kirchner was removed weeks before the event.
Following his dismissal from the WWF, he made a successful wrestling career for himself in Japan as he created the ring name and gimmick of Leatherface and tied it in with the villain of the same name from the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He originally wrestled for Victor Quiñones' W*ING promotion and was considered by many to be the toughest hardcore wrestler in W*ING. However, Kirchner was later arrested and jailed for six months following an attempted assault by a fan, which left the fan with severe facial injuries. During his brief time in jail, the Leatherface character that Kirchner created was given to another wrestler, Rick Patterson, who eventually left W*ING and went to International Wrestling Association of Japan. During a subsequent match in the IWA that the new Leatherface competed in, the original Leatherface (Kirchner) appeared in the crowd.
This set up the team of the Leatherfaces, which lasted for only one match and was intended as a transition of the character away from Patterson. On December 13, 1994, the Leatherfaces faced two popular wrestlers, Shoji Nakamaki and Hiroshi Ono, in a Double Hell Deathmatch. In a match that would become a classic within hardcore wrestling, Kirchner broke kayfabe after the match and ripped off a piece of the bed of nails, placed it on Ono's throat and then executed a leg drop onto the patch of nails. He then powerbombed Ono onto the bed of nails. Kirchner afterward left the IWA, with the promotion claiming that he was fired in an attempt to salvage Ono's destroyed reputation.
Kirchner then left for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. Using a modified version of his Leatherface gimmick, he debuted for the promotion under the name Super Leather and later formed a tag team with Chris Romero. The team proved to be successful, as they managed to score wins over popular and well-known tag teams including Jado and Gedo, and Masato Tanaka and Iko Kuroda. Kirchner remained with FMW until its closure in 2002 and by 2004, he retired from wrestling.
In 2007, Kirchner revived his Leatherface character for his first match since 2004. In his return match, he teamed with Jayson Voorhees as The Serial Killers in a losing effort to Mad Man Pondo and Necro Butcher on February 25, 2007 during the Insane Clown Posse's Tempest Release Party.[6] On March 2, the Serial Killers defeated KJ Hellfire and Ricky during the Tempest Release Party.[6]
Kirchner was reportedly announced dead on October 15, 2006 by former employer World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation). On October 21, it was announced that he was still alive.[3] This came as a result of confusion over Kirchner's actual name, which was believed to be Thomas Spear at the time. There, in fact, was a Thomas Spear who died in White Marsh, Maryland, but he is completely unconnected to Kirchner.[3]