Mantaur

Mike Halac^[1] (born May 14, 1968) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-1990s under the ring names Mantaur and Tank.

Professional wrestling career

Catch Wrestling Association (1991–1994)

In 1991, under the ring name Bruiser Mastino, Halac traveled to Germany to work for the Catch Wrestling Association. He debuted on November 11, in a losing effort against Rambo for the World Heavyweight Championship.^[6] He remained with the promotion until late 1994, when he returned to the United States to perform for the World Wrestling Federation.^[7]

World Wrestling Federation (1995)

On the January 7, 1995 episode of Superstars of Wrestling, Halac debuted in the World Wrestling Federation as Mantaur, defeating Walt Snow.^[8][7] The Mantaur character was that of a Minotaur-like character, and Halac would perform antics such as charging, trampling, mauling, and mooing at opponents.^[9] Soon after debuting, he acquired Jim Cornette as his manager.^[10]

Mantaur then began a small winning streak, defeating a series of jobbers. He came close to defeating then-Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, but lost the match by disqualification due to interference by Jeff Jarrett, who was involved in a feud with Ramon at that time. Mantaur made his first and only pay-per-view appearance at the 1995 Royal Rumble, where he competed in the Royal Rumble match and lasted almost 10 minutes before being eliminated by Lex Luger.^[11]

Mantaur entered the 1995 King of the Ring tournament but was pinned by Bob "Spark Plug" Holly in a qualifying match.^[12] In his final televised WWF match, he lost to Bam Bam Bigelow as part of a push to enhance the popularity of Bigelow as a babyface. Halac made his last WWF appearance as a lumberjack in a lumberjack match between Sycho Sid and Diesel at In Your House 2.^[13]

Extreme Championship Wrestling and return to CWA (1995–1996)

After leaving the WWF, Halac returned to his Bruiser Mastino ring name and joined Extreme Championship Wrestling. He debuted there on December 1, 1995 with a victory over The Dark Ninja.^[14] Eight days later, he lost to Hack Meyers at December to Dismember.^[14] A few weeks after that, he lost to 911.^[14] At Holiday Hell, Mastino defeated El Puerto Ricano in his final match for the promotion, in which he was jeered with "Mantaur" chants from the always-vocal ECW audience.^[14] Halac then briefly returned to the Catch Wrestling Association as Terminator Mastino.^[14][2]

Return to WWF (1996)

In April 1996, Halac returned to the WWF playing the role of Goldust's unnamed bodyguard.^[2] He appeared with Goldust at In Your House 7 in his corner for his match against the Ultimate Warrior. After Goldust lost, the bodyguard attacked Warrior but was overpowered and body slammed.^[15]

United States Wrestling Association and second return to WWF (1997)

Halac then worked in the United States Wrestling Association as Tank, a member of The Truth Commission. He wore a mask. ^[2] He won the Unified World Heavyweight Championship, his first and only wrestling title, on March 15, 1997 after defeating then-champion Jerry Lawler.^[16] He lost the belt back to Lawler in a rematch seven days later.^[16] Later that spring, Tank was involved in a controversy surrounding the World Tag Team Championship. While The Interrogator and Recon (Tank's teammates in The Truth Commission) held the title, Tank substituted for The Interrogator in one match and his team lost the title to Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan.^[17] The title change was declared invalid, however, as Tank was not one of the official holders of the World Tag Team Title.^[17] He returned to the WWF in June 1997 with the Truth Commission as he fought as Tank. He was on two Saturday Night Shotgun episodes until his release later that summer.

Second return to CWA and the independent circuit (1998, 2000–2001, 2005)

Halac returned to the CWA in September 1998, again as Bruiser Mastino, where he formed a tag team with his cousin Cannonball Grizzly.^[18] He left the promotion before the end of the year.^[18] Halac then took a hiatus before returning to the ring on May 27, 2000 for Independent Wrestling World, as the victorious "one" in a four-on-one handicap match.^[18] He wrestled three matches for NWA Germany later that year, winning the first against Franz Schumann on September 22, losing the second to Ulf Herman September 23, and losing the third to Shumann on December 2.^[18] He also competed in the European Wresting Promotion (EWP), defeating Christian Eckstein on November 25.^[18] Halac returned to the EWP on May 18, 2001, winning a triple threat match against Eric Schwarz and Martin Nolte. The next day, he defeated Big Tiger Steele.^[18] After another hiatus, Halac returned to Germany to compete for the Riotgas Wrestling Alliance on June 3, 2005, winning a battle royal.^[18] That same day, he lost to his cousin, Cannonball Grizzly, in a match for the vacant International Championship. ^[18]

Personal life

Halac is a cousin of Paul Neu, who is best known by his ring name "PN News".^[3]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Body avalanche^[2] (Independent circuit) / Stampede^[2][3] (WWF)

• Signature moves
  • Falling powerslam^[2]
  • Side belly to belly suplex^[2]

• Manager
  • Jim Cornette^[10][19]

• Entrance themes
  • "James Brown Is Dead" by L.A. Style^[20] (CWA)

Championships and accomplishments

• Catch Wrestling Association
  • Catch Cup (1992)^[21]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #235 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1995^[22]

• United States Wrestling Association
  • USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[16]

References

External links

• Mike Halac on Facebook
• Mantaur's profile on WWE.com
• Mike Halac at the Internet Movie Database