| Nikolai Volkoff | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Volkoff in 2015 | |
| Birth name | Josip Hrvoje Peruzović |
| Born | October 14, 1947[1] Split, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia[2] |
| Died | July 29, 2018 (aged 70) Glen Arm, Maryland, U.S. |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Nikolai Volkoff[3] Bepo Mongol[2] Boris Breznikoff Executioner #3 |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 313 lb (142 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Moscow, Russia Soviet Union[2] Mongolia (as Bepo Mongol) |
| Trained by | Stu Hart[3] Newton Tattrie |
| Debut | 1967 |
Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018),[4][5] better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Croatian-American professional wrestler from Yugoslavia, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation where he usually played a Soviet heel.
In the 1970s, Peruzović was Bepo of the Mongols tag team, one of the masked Executioners and feuded with Bruno Sammartino over the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship as Volkoff. In the 1980s, he tag teamed with the Iron Sheik and won the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania event, and then with Boris Zhukov as The Bolsheviks.
In 1990, Volkoff turned face and defected to America, briefly feuding with Zhukov and newly-heel Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter. In 1994, after a hiatus, he returned as a destitute and desperate character, exploited by Ted DiBiase as the first member of his Million Dollar Corporation. He continued to wrestle in various promotions until his death in 2018.
- ^ Summer, Ben (July 30, 2018). "Nikolai Volkoff, professional wrestler who played a Soviet villain, dies at 70". Washington Post. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Nikolai Volkoff Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Nikolai Volkoff WWE Hall of Fame Profile". WWE. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Deathwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Born in 1946 per search of FamilyTreeNow.com