Killer Khan

Killer Khan
Birth name Masashi Ozawa
Born March 6, 1947[1]
Tsubame, Niigata, Japan[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Killer Khan[1]
Temjin El Mongol[1]
Masashi Ozawa[1]
Billed height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[2]
Billed weight 141 kg (311 lb)[3]
Billed from Mongolia[1][2]
Debut 1973[4]
Retired 1987

Masashi Ozawa (小沢 正志 Ozawa Masashi)[2] (born March 6, 1947) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Popularly known as Killer Khan, he was billed from Mongolia and had numerous high-profile matches with André the Giant in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1980s, including the first ever "stretcher match". Khan used Asian mist against opponents.

Professional wrestling career

Ozawa's Mongolian giant character was created by Karl Gotch.[2] He traveled to America in 1979 to wrestle. The following year, in 1980, Khan first wrestled André the Giant in tag team match for Georgia Championship Wrestling.[2] Later that same year, he was hired by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[2] In the WWF, Khan originally feuded with WWF Champion Bob Backlund, as well as the WWF Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales.[2]

Khan was then placed in feud with André the Giant. During one match in May 1981, a kayfabe Khan kneedrop off of the top turnbuckle resulted in André the Giant breaking his ankle, as Khan accidentally landed on it. The truth was that Andre actually broke his ankle getting out of bed.[2][5] The incident has been reported as real and as a storyline to help put Khan over.[2] When Andre returned from his injury, he and Khan feuded into the next year.[6] In November 1981 in Philadelphia Andre defeated Khan in a "Mongolian Stretcher match."[6] The feud was named Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Feud of the Year.[7]

In 1984 in Canada's Stampede Wrestling, he had a series of matches with Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie.[8] On January 20, 1984, he won the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship from Gouldie in a street fight.[8] In March, he lost the title to Dynamite Kid.

Khan made a brief return to the WWF in 1987, managed by Mr. Fuji,[3] where he feuded with Outback Jack. In addition, he wrestled against WWF Champion Hulk Hogan in a match at the Boston Garden where Hogan retained his title.[9]

Personal life

Khan had a role as a bodyguard in the movie 3 Ninjas Kick Back, and a cameo in 2006 Japanese special effects action series Lion-Maru G. Khan currently owns a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. He is married to Cindy Ozawa of Lutz, Florida, though the two remain geographically estranged. He has three children: Yukie, Yoshiko, and David Masato. All of them reside in the United States.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • Mid-South Louisiana Championship (1 time)
  • Mid-South Mississippi Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • WCCW Television Championship (1 time)
  • PWI Feud of the Year award in 1981 vs. André the Giant
  • PWI Match of the Year (1981) vs. André the Giant on May 2
  • PWI ranked him # 176 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003.
  • Feud of the Year (1981) vs. André the Giant[7]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Killer Khan Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Krugman, Michael. André the Giant: A Legendary Life, p.48.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Killer Khan Profile". Wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
  5. ↑ Todd, Terry (December 21, 1981). "To The Giant Among Us". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Krugman, Michael. André the Giant: A Legendary Life, p.56–57.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Krugman, Michael. André the Giant: A Legendary Life, p.61.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nevada, Vance (May 11, 2008). "Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ward, Marshall (November 16, 2009). ""Unreleased" Hogan DVD great if not exactly true". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Killer Khan Profile". CageMatch. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
  11. ↑ "Gary Hart profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-11-23.

References

External links