Otto Wanz

Otto Wanz
Born(1943-06-13)June 13, 1943
Nestelbach bei Graz, Reichsgau Steiermark, Nazi Germany
DiedSeptember 14, 2017(2017-09-14) (aged 74)
Styria, Austria
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Big Otto[1]
Bulldog Otto
Grand Lapin
Otto Wanz
Billed height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Billed weight170 kg (375 lb)[1]
Billed fromGraz, Austria[2]
Debut1968
RetiredAugust 23, 1996

Otto Wanz (June 13, 1943 – September 14, 2017) was an Austrian professional wrestler and boxer.[3] He made his professional wrestling debut in 1968. He is a one time American Wrestling Association champion and former operator of the Catch Wrestling Association, where he was the promotion's inaugural World Heavyweight Champion, winning the title four times. He was overall a five-time world champion and the longest reigning world champion in Europe.

Professional wrestling career

Born in Nestelbach bei Graz on June 13, 1943,[2] Wanz made his professional wrestling debut in 1968 in his native Austria.[2] Later on he would work as "Bulldog" Otto in Japan, primarily working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

In the early 1970s he joined the Internationalen Berufsringer Verbandes (IBV) promoted by Nico Selenkowitsch, based in Austria but promoting shows in the surrounding countries as well. On August 2, 1977 Wanz defeated Jan Wilkens on a show in Cape Town, South Africa to become the first holder of the CWA World Heavyweight Championship (originally claimed to be sanctioned by the fictitious Canadian Wrestling Association and having previous lineage in North America) bringing the championship back to Europe once the tour was over.[2][4][5]

Over the next two years Wanz defended the championship in Austria and Germany on several occasions, before losing to Don Leo Jonathan on September 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa.[4][5] Wanz brought Jonathan to Graz, Austria to win the championship for a second time in front of a home town crowd.[4][5] In Germany, he wrestled Andre the Giant and was one of the few wrestlers to bodyslam him.[2]

While in the US during a 1982 tour, he worked for Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association (AWA) where he defeated long-reigning AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel to win the AWA title on August 29, 1982.[2][6][7] The reign ended 41 days later as Bockwinkel regained the championship on October 9.[2][6][7]

Returning to the IBV, which he and Peter Wilhelm bought out from Selenkowitsch and later rebranded as the Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) in honour of its World Heavyweight Championship, Wanz spent several years as the champion until March 22, 1987 where an American power house wrestler known as Bull Power defeated him for the championship.[4][5] Wanz regained the title a few months later but Bull Power started a second reign in 1989.[4][5] On June 30, 1990 Wanz won the CWA Championship for a fourth time. After the match, Wanz retired from active competition to focus on promoting the CWA.[2]

Personal life

Before entering professional wrestling, Wanz was a boxer, winning two Austrian boxing championships.[2] He was also an amateur wrestler.[2] Wanz also organized strong men competitions in Austria.[2] He was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records tearing telephone books.[2] Arnold Schwarzenegger has cited Wanz as an influence on his fitness and bodybuilding career.[8]

Wanz died on September 14, 2017.[9][2]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b "Wrestler Profiles: Otto Wanz". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oliver, Greg (September 14, 2017). "Former AWA World champion Otto Wanz dies". SLAM Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  3. ^ "Sport legend Otto Wanz is dead". ORF (in German). September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Austria) Catch Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Catch Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. ^ a b c "American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  8. ^ "WWE Hall of Fame class of 2015 make four hours fly by". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. March 29, 2015. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  9. ^ Meltzer, Dave (September 14, 2017). "Otto Wanz passes away at 74 years old". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 15, 2017.