Paul Orndorff

Paul Orndorff (born October 29, 1949 in Brandon, Florida) is an American former professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1980s as "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff.

Career

Early years

After earning noteriety as a running back at the University of Tampa where he scored 21 career touchdowns and gained over 2000 all-purpose yards in his playing career, Orndorff failed to catch on in the NFL with both the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints, but did play for the Jacksonville Sharks of the now-defunct World Football League in 1975. After one season in the WFL, it was then that he began training as a professional wrestler.

"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff started wrestling in 1976. He wrestled in Mid-Southern Wrestling where he feuded with Jerry Lawler. He next went to Mid-South Wrestling where he feuded with Ernie Ladd.

He made a name for himself in the early 1980's in the National Wrestling Alliance where he feuded with Masked Superstar and won the NWA National Heavyweight Title three times.

WWF years

Entered the WWF in January 1984 with Roddy Piper as his manager. He was one of the earliest challengers to champion Hulk Hogan. Also feuded with Tony Atlas.

In 1985, he wrestled in the main event at Wrestlemania I on March 31, 1985 where he teamed with Piper and Bob Orton, Jr. and lost to Hogan and Mr. T. The end of the match saw Orton hit Orndorff with the cast on his arm, allowing Hogan pin Orndorff and win the match for his team.

Blaming Orndorff for the loss, Piper and Orton attacked him on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. He followed by teaming with former adversary Hogan. Orndorff and Piper continued to feud throughout the remainder of 1985 with neither man scoring a decisive pinfall victory.

Meanwhile, Hogan and Orndorff continued to team until mid-1986 when continued rifts, in part with Adrian Adonis creating dissension, caused to team to split, by Orndorff turning heel again after a tag match with Hogan against King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd by clotheslining Hogan and then giving him Orndorff's signature piledriver.

He soon teamed with Manager Bobby Heenan to go after Hogan but still could not defeat him. Memorable matches included an outdoor event in Toronto which drew an estimated 76,000 fans. There was also a controversial televised steel cage match in which both Hogan and Orndorff exited the cage simultaneously. The match was restarted by the referee and Hogan won, putting an end to the Hogan-Orndorff war. Their half-year long feud is one of the most notable feuds in the history of pro wrestling.

During the Hogan feud, Orndorff injured his left arm and took some time off before returning during the summer of 1987. This time, he fired Bobby Heenan and took on Oliver Humperdink to feud with Heenan's newest charge, Rick Rude. Orndorff competed in the main event of the inaugural Survivor Series but left the WWF soon thereafter.

Transition

He left the WWF and wrestled on the independents and then seriously injured his left arm. He retired to run his bowling alleys in Florida for a while but the "wrestling bug" bit him again. After rigorous and gruelling training, he had worked himself up to full fitness again,though his left was noticably smaller and weakened due to the injury,a severe muscle tear. Orndorff originally returned to World Championship Wrestling in the spring of 1990. Along with Sting, Lex Luger, the Steiner Brothers and others, he was a member of the "Dudes with Attitudes." He defeated Arn Anderson on a televised Clash of Champions card and was with El Gigante and Junkyard Dog, defeated the Four Horsemen at the Great American Bash in July.

World Championship Wrestling

He came back full-time to World Championship Wrestling in 1993 and feuded with Dustin Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat. He also won the Television Title in a tournament final over Erik Watts.

In 1994, he teamed with Paul Roma and became Pretty Wonderful and won the Tag Titles twice. They had a feud with Marcus Bagwell and The Patriot (Stars N Stripes).

Incident with Vader

During an encounter backstage in which Vader had reportedly showed up late for work, comments from Orndorff ignited a brief fight that had apparently been brewing for some time. Accounts of this notorious real-life altercation generally claim that the upper hand was held by Orndorff, who'd practically "begged Vader to start something" as tensions grew ^*. The two were separated in short time. Afterwards, Vader was soon released from World Championship Wrestling.

Retirement

Orndorff eventually retired to run the WCW Power Plant, where he trained several wrestlers including the Natural Born Thrillers. He had a brief onscreen role during this time in the Old Age Outlaws with Terry Funk, Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko to feud with the last WCW incarnation of the nWo.

On February 3, 2005, Orndorff was announced as one of the inductees for the Class of 2005 into the WWE Hall of Fame and was inducted on April 2, 2005 in the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves

Piledriver
Orndorff Knee Drop

Managers

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Federation

3 AWF Heavyweight Champion

Mid-South Wrestling

2-time NWA Tri-State NorthAmerican Heavyweight Champion
1-time Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion
- Mid Southern Wrestling

1-time Mid-Southern Heavyweight Champion
- National Wrestling Alliance

1-time NWA World Tag-Team Champion (with Jimmy Snuka)
3-time NWA National Heavyweight Champion
2-time NWA Southeast Tag Team Champion (with Dick Slater and Norvell Austin)
- National Wrestling League

1-time NWL Tag Team Champion (with Brian Blair)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him # 49 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
PWI Match of the Year Award, with Roddy Piper, versus Hulk Hogan and Mr. T at WrestleMania (1985)
PWI Feud of the Year Award, versus Hulk Hogan (1986)
PWI Most Hated Wrestler Award (1986)
PWI 500 Rankings: 1991 - #115; 1992 - #108; 1993 - #38; 1994 - #64; 1995 - #1
- Universal Wrestling Federation