| Wrestler: | Dean Malenko |
|---|---|
| Real Name: | Dean Simon |
| Birthday: | August 4, 1960 |
| Hometown: | Tampa, Florida |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Height & Weight: | 5’10″ – 212 lbs |
| Trained by: | Boris Malenko |
| Debut: | 1979 |
| Previous Names: | Dean Solkoff (UWF) The Shooter The Ice Man Man of a 1001 Holds |
| Finishing Move: | Texas Cloverleaf |
| Favorite Moves: | Figure Four The Dropkick Tiger Driver Spinning Heel Kick Leg Lariat Gutbuster Brainbuster |
| Notable Feuds: Davey Boy Smith Dynamite Kid Chris Benoit Eddie Guerrero Chris Jericho |
Notable Feuds: Taz Sabu Public Enemy Ron Simmons Rey Mysterio Jr. Ultimo Dragon Syxx 2 Cold Scorpio Jeff Jarrett Lita Matt Hardy |
Dean Malenko Title History
Dean Malenko is widely regarded as one of the most technically sound professional wrestlers ever to set foot in the squared circle. Dean Malenko was born under the name of Dean Simon and lived his life in the wrestling business from day one. His father was legendary professional wrestler Boris Malenko; one of the most famous wrestlers before wrestling went mainstream and was widely televised. Dean also has a brother, Joe Malenko, who at one point was also a professional wrestler but is now retired.
Dean Malenko began his professional wrestling career in the late 70′s and achieved mediocre fame along with his brother Joe whom together were The Malenko Brother’s tag team. After many years of wrestling together, Dean and Joe went their separate ways, with Joe becoming semi-retired and concentrating more on his family and his sub-career as a pharmacist, and Dean moving on to wrestle on television for what was considered the third biggest and without a doubt, the best solid wrestling action at the time, with Extreme Championship Wrestling, the cult-like organization led by the brains of Paul E. Dangerously, also known as Paul Heyman.
Dean had a successful run in ECW, capturing the ECW Tag Team titles with the man who would quickly become his best friend in the wrestling business, Chris Benoit. He also had a very successful feud with his other best friend Eddie Guerrero in a feud which would become a cult classic for ECW fans providing some of the most technically sound wrestling that the United States has ever seen, rivaling the likes of World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.
Dean’s talent, his history, background and his new found friendships and respect earned him, along with Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn and more, a spot on the roster of World Championship Wrestling, widely regarded at the time to be the company with all the capabilities to end the world renown regime of the WWF as the king promotion of Wrestling, and they were not far from the truth at one point.
Malenko went on to have a some-what successful tenure in the WCW, being dubbed both The Iceman’ for his cold and ruthless demeanor, and The Man of 1,000 Holds’ the title once held by the legendary Dynamite Kid Tommy Billington, a name dubbed unto him for his amazing range of technical moves and mat work, combined with his ultimate submission maneuvers that nobody since has been able to match. Along his way he captures the Cruiserweight title on several occasions and had memorable matches with the likes of Rey Misterio Jr, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr, along with many, many more. You could guarantee, that when Malenko got in the ring, you were going to get your moneys worth when it came to pure wrestling.
After WCW, Malenko went on to the WWF capturing the Light Heavyweight title there as well as forming a successful faction known as The Radicalz’ with his friends Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Perry Saturn. This name sat well as they had one last match in the WCW before jumping straight away to the ship of the WWF, stating later on in the years that they escaped the titanic and jumped into the lifeboat.
Malenko retired from active competition in 2001 but has since taken on the role as a Road Agent backstage in the World Wrestling entertainment and still maintains the respect he had gained over the years and years he had been active in our fair sport. As shocking as it was to see a man in his prime as much as Malenko call it quits, you can not help but wonder, would Malenko be a World Champion if he had stayed in the sport? Lord knows, he certainly was the total package when it came to wrestling. He was THE very definition of talent!
written by Wayne K. Wilkins
