Paul Ellering
Encyclopedia
Paul Ellering is a retired professional wrestling
manager
.
business, Ellering was an accomplished weightlifter. He could dead lift 745 lbs.
Ellering was trained in Minneapolis, Minnesota
at a camp run by American Wrestling Alliance (AWA) owner and promoter Verne Gagne
and wrestler/trainer Eddie Sharkey
in the mid 1970s. According to Ellering's RF Video shoot interview, of the thirty-plus trainees in the camp, only himself and later AWA mid-card wrestler Steve Olsenowsky (a.k.a. Steve O) made it through the camp. Ellering would later go on to wrestle in singles and tag teams for Gagne in the AWA, Bill Watts
's Mid-South promotion, and for Jerry Jarrett's Memphis promotion, where he was paired with manager Jimmy Hart
. His notable feuds were with Jesse Ventura
as a face, and as a heel with Jerry Lawler
and Jimmy Valiant
, from whom he won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship.
While wrestling for Georgia Championship Wrestling
, Ellering severely injured his knee in a match with Robert Gibson, reinjuring it after returning to the ring, which ended his full-time wrestling career. Georgia booker Ole Anderson
recognized his speaking ability, however, and gave him a job as a manager.
Ellering is best known for managing The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom from 1983 until 1997 during their stints in the American Wrestling Association
, the National Wrestling Alliance
, New Japan Pro Wrestling
, and the World Wrestling Federation
in 1992. Ellering was also the real-life manager for the team; he booked their matches, lined up their flights, set up hotel reservations, and kept track of their expenses.
Throughout 1998 he managed the Disciples of Apocalypse
, who were then feuding
with the Legion of Doom; according to Ellering and Animal on the Road Warriors DVD, Ellering had a hard time working with another team against Hawk and Animal, and had difficulty ripping on his former team on the microphone. By the end of his second WWF run, though, he was back to managing the LOD, most notably on Sunday Night Heat, during a tag-team battle royal for a shot at the tag titles later in the night at WrestleMania XV
, though they were unsuccessful.
Although primarily a manager, Ellering has stepped between the ropes as a competitor, notably at the 1987 NWA Great American Bash in which he joined the Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff
, and Dusty Rhodes
to face The Four Horsemen
and their manager James J. Dillon
in the first ever WarGames match
. Ellering would also face Teddy Long
in a 'Hair vs. Hair' match at the World Championship Wrestling
Capitol Combat event in 1990.
In 2011, Ellering was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
, along with the Road Warriors, by "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
.
to become a sled dog racer, participating in the Iditarod. In 2004, he worked as Rachael Scdoris
' assistant during the Iditarod.
He currently owns and operates The Historic Rock Tavern in Grey Eagle, Minnesota on Big Birch Lake. He has a wife named Joan and three children: Rebecca, Rachael and Saul.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
.
Professional wrestling career
Before entering the wrestlingWrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
business, Ellering was an accomplished weightlifter. He could dead lift 745 lbs.
Ellering was trained in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
at a camp run by American Wrestling Alliance (AWA) owner and promoter Verne Gagne
Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne , is a retired American professional wrestler, football player, and professional wrestling trainer and promoter. He was the former owner/promoter of the American Wrestling Association , based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was the predominant promotion throughout...
and wrestler/trainer Eddie Sharkey
Eddie Sharkey
Eddie Sharkey is an American professional wrestling trainer. He is often called "The Trainer of Champions", and has been instrumental in training some of the biggest names in the industry, including the Road Warriors , "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Tom Zenk, Bob Backlund, Jerry Lynn, Sean Waltman, Nord...
in the mid 1970s. According to Ellering's RF Video shoot interview, of the thirty-plus trainees in the camp, only himself and later AWA mid-card wrestler Steve Olsenowsky (a.k.a. Steve O) made it through the camp. Ellering would later go on to wrestle in singles and tag teams for Gagne in the AWA, Bill Watts
Bill Watts
William F. "Bill" Watts is a former American professional wrestler and promoter. Watts was famous under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a tough, no-nonsense promoter in the Mid-South area of the United States, which grew to become the UWF.In 1992, he was the Executive...
's Mid-South promotion, and for Jerry Jarrett's Memphis promotion, where he was paired with manager Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
. His notable feuds were with Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
as a face, and as a heel with Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
and Jimmy Valiant
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as Jimmy Valiant.-Personal life:...
, from whom he won the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship.
While wrestling for Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
, Ellering severely injured his knee in a match with Robert Gibson, reinjuring it after returning to the ring, which ended his full-time wrestling career. Georgia booker Ole Anderson
Ole Anderson
Alan Robert Rogowski , better known by his ring name of Ole Anderson, is a retired professional wrestler and a promoter. He held numerous NWA World Tag Team Championships with Gene Anderson, who was portrayed as his brother...
recognized his speaking ability, however, and gave him a job as a manager.
Ellering is best known for managing The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom from 1983 until 1997 during their stints in the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
, the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
, New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
, and the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
in 1992. Ellering was also the real-life manager for the team; he booked their matches, lined up their flights, set up hotel reservations, and kept track of their expenses.
Throughout 1998 he managed the Disciples of Apocalypse
Disciples of Apocalypse
The Disciples of Apocalypse were a biker-themed professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation in the late 1990s. The group came together from the demise of the Nation of Domination stable in June 1997 and consisted of four main members: Crush, Chainz, Skull and...
, who were then feuding
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with the Legion of Doom; according to Ellering and Animal on the Road Warriors DVD, Ellering had a hard time working with another team against Hawk and Animal, and had difficulty ripping on his former team on the microphone. By the end of his second WWF run, though, he was back to managing the LOD, most notably on Sunday Night Heat, during a tag-team battle royal for a shot at the tag titles later in the night at WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV was the fifteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on March 28, 1999 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, though they were unsuccessful.
Although primarily a manager, Ellering has stepped between the ropes as a competitor, notably at the 1987 NWA Great American Bash in which he joined the Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff is a retired American professional wrestler,. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he wrestled as "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff, which was a play on the nickname of fan favorite "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes .Nikita was brought into the National...
, and Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
to face The Four Horsemen
Four Horsemen (professional wrestling)
The Four Horsemen were a professional wrestling stable in the National Wrestling Alliance and later World Championship Wrestling that was disbanded in 1999. The original group featured Ric Flair, Arn and Ole Anderson, and Tully Blanchard...
and their manager James J. Dillon
James J. Dillon
James J. "J.J." Dillon is a retired American professional wrestler and manager.He is best known for being the strategic leader of the original Four Horsemen that consisted of Nature Boy Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn and Ole Anderson. He is most remembered as a manager in pro wrestling...
in the first ever WarGames match
WarGames match
The WarGames match was a gimmick match used originally in the National Wrestling Alliance and later held annually in World Championship Wrestling , usually at their Fall Brawl pay-per-view event in September.-History:...
. Ellering would also face Teddy Long
Theodore Long
Theodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:...
in a 'Hair vs. Hair' match at the World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
Capitol Combat event in 1990.
In 2011, Ellering was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
, along with the Road Warriors, by "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
.
Personal life
After retiring from professional wrestling, he traveled to AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to become a sled dog racer, participating in the Iditarod. In 2004, he worked as Rachael Scdoris
Rachael Scdoris
Rachael Scdoris is an American dog musher and cross country runner who in 2006 became the first legally blind person to complete the 1,049+ mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska....
' assistant during the Iditarod.
He currently owns and operates The Historic Rock Tavern in Grey Eagle, Minnesota on Big Birch Lake. He has a wife named Joan and three children: Rebecca, Rachael and Saul.
In wrestling
- Wrestlers managedManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- The Road Warriors / The Legion of DoomRoad WarriorsThe Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
(Road Warrior AnimalRoad Warrior AnimalJoseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...
and Road Warrior HawkRoad Warrior HawkMichael James Hegstrand was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors or The Legion of Doom , with Road Warrior Animal.-Early life:While living in Chicago, Hegstrand met Joe Lauranaitis, who would be later...
) - Jake RobertsJake RobertsAurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
- Arn AndersonArn AndersonMartin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...
- Matt BorneMatt OsborneMatthew "Matt" Wade Osborne is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. Osborne is a second generation wrestler, being son of "Tough" Tony Borne, but he is best known as the first wrestler to portray the character of Doink the Clown, which he still uses to this day.-Independent...
- King Kong BundyKing Kong BundyChristopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:...
- Jos LeDucJos LeDucMichel Pigeon was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Jos LeDuc. Wrestling with a lumberjack gimmick, he debuted in Stampede Wrestling with his kayfabe brother, Paul LeDuc...
- The SpoilerDon JardineDon Jardine was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as "The Spoiler".-Career:Jardine began wrestling in the mid-1950s,making his wrestling debut in 1955 at the age of 15...
- Iron Sheik
- Abdullah the ButcherAbdullah the ButcherLawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
- Buzz SawyerBuzz SawyerBruce Woyan was a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Buzz Sawyer. Throughout his career, he was also known by the nickname "Mad Dog". He was characterized by his crazy antics inside the ring and out.-Career:Sawyer started wrestling in 1979 in the National Wrestling Alliance 's...
- Killer Karl KruppKiller Karl KruppGeorge Momberg , better known by the ring name Killer Karl Krupp, was a Dutch-born professional wrestler famous during the 1970s and early 1980s.-Early life:...
- Disciples of ApocalypseDisciples of ApocalypseThe Disciples of Apocalypse were a biker-themed professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation in the late 1990s. The group came together from the demise of the Nation of Domination stable in June 1997 and consisted of four main members: Crush, Chainz, Skull and...
(Skull and 8-Ball)
- The Road Warriors / The Legion of Doom
Championships and accomplishments
- Continental Wrestling AssociationContinental Wrestling AssociationThe Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
- AWA Southern Heavyweight ChampionshipAWA Southern Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship is a major professional wrestling title in the Memphis Wrestling promotion. The title is part of a long lineage that is best known while the title was named the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship for Continental Wrestling Association during...
(1 time) - AWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipAWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
(1 time) - with Sheik Ali Hassan
- International Wrestling Alliance
- IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Terry Latham
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- (Class of 2011) (As a member of the Road WarriorsRoad WarriorsThe Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
)
- (Class of 2011) (As a member of the Road Warriors
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Manager of the Year (1984)
- World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- WWE Hall of FameWWE Hall of FameThe WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
(Class of 2011)
- WWE Hall of Fame