Paul Orndorff

Paul Orndorff
Orndorff in March 2009
Born
Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr.

(1949-10-29)October 29, 1949[1]
DiedJuly 12, 2021(2021-07-12) (aged 71)
Alma materUniversity of Tampa
Spouse
Ronda Maxwell
(m. 1971)
Children2
FamilyTerry Orndorff (brother)[1]
Ring name(s)"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff[3]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[3]
Billed weight252 lb (114 kg)[3]
Billed fromBrandon, Florida, U.S.[3]
Trained byBob Backlund[1]
Jack Brisco[1]
Eddie Graham[1]
Hiro Matsuda[1]
Debut1976[1]
Retired2000

American football career
Career information
High school:Brandon High (FL)[4][5][6]
College:Tampa
Position:Tight end, fullback
NFL draft:1973 / round: 12 / pick: 289
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards

Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

After seven years working around the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Orndorff became a star in the 1980s WWF wrestling boom, and featured with manager Bobby Heenan and champion Hulk Hogan extensively, including in the main events of the first WrestleMania and Survivor Series. He left the WWF for WCW in early 1990, where he won the WCW World Television Championship and the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Paul Roma (as a team called Pretty Wonderful).

Arm atrophy from a nagging injury led him to retire in 2000. After retiring, he trained aspiring wrestlers. Orndorff was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame in 2009.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Paul Orndorff Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
  2. ^ Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Birth Records, 1912-2015, Delayed Birth Records, 1721-1911 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d "Paul Orndorff". WWE. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  4. ^ "Terriers, Brandon to clash". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "From Eagle to Spartan". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  6. ^ "Brandon fears injuries". The Tampa Times. Retrieved February 29, 2024.