Vladimir Koloff
| Vladimir Koloff | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Carl R Brantley |
| Born | Wilkesboro, North Carolina, U.S.[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Vladimir Koloff |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Billed weight | 290 lb (130 kg) |
| Billed from | Russia |
| Trained by | Ivan Koloff, George Hines, Bobby Fulton |
| Debut | 1991 |
| Retired | 2001 |
Carl Brantley is an American retired professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Vladimir Koloff, who played a fictional Russian character during his career. He competed in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), and Japan during the early 1990s.[2]
Career
[edit ]Koloff made his professional wrestling debut in 1991 teaming with his storyline uncle Ivan Koloff for Smoky Mountain Wrestling. In 1992, they went to Japan to work for W*ING.
In 1993, the Koloffs made their debut for Extreme Championship Wrestling. The team won their debut match on the June 29 edition of ECW Hardcore TV . They competed in the ECW Tag Team Titles tournament defeating the Headhunters (professional wrestling) in the first round then lost in the semi-finals to Salvatore Bellomo and The Sandman.[3]
After ECW, the Koloffs split up with Vladimir on his own. He competed in India, IWA Mid-South and the independents until he retired in 2001.
Personal life
[edit ]Since retiring from wrestling, Koloff has been working in agriculture breeding poultry.[4]
Championships and accomplishments
[edit ]- Ultimate Championship Wrestling
- UCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him # 221 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1992[5]
- PWI ranked him # 120 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1993
- PWI ranked him # 145 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1994
- PWI ranked him # 254 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1995
References
[edit ]- ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Vladimir Koloff - Facts @ Wrestlingdata.com". wrestlingdata.com.
- ^ "Vladimir Koloff Profile". Cagematch. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
- ^ "1993". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^ Daubs, Katie (February 18, 2012). "Ex-pro wrestler Vladimir Koloff turns his attention to chickens". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated . Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2018.