Ivan Putski

Ivan Putski
Putski, c. 1982
Birth nameJózef Bednarski[1]
Born (1941-01-21) January 21, 1941 (age 83)[1]
Kraków, Poland
Children2, including Scott Putski
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Ivan Putski[1]
Jim Bednarski[2]
Polish Power
The Polish Hammer
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[3]
Billed weight245 lb (111 kg)[3]
Billed fromKraków, Poland[1]
Debut1968[2]
Retired1999[4]

Józef Bednarski (born January 21, 1941) is a Polish/American former professional wrestler and bodybuilder, best known by the ring name Ivan Putski.[1] He was given the nicknames the "Polish Hammer" and "Polish Power".

Putski is a former WWF World Tag Team Champion with Tito Santana.[1] He had a famous feud with Superstar Billy Graham over the WWF Championship, which led to many pose-downs, arm wrestling bouts, and long matches between the two. Other rivals included The Iron Sheik, Ivan Koloff, and Jesse Ventura, who would refer to Putski as "Puduski" when commentating for the WWF. Putski was the first Polish wrestler to perform in the WWF (now WWE).

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Ivan Putski's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved December 17, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Legends was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference wwe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Ivan Putski Profile & Match Listing". IW Database. Retrieved October 29, 2011.