Paul Ellering
Real name: Paul Ellering
Height: 5’11″
Weight: 244 lbs.
Date of birth: August 22, 1953
Born: Melrose, Minnesota
Pro debut: 1978
Trained by: Verne Gagne & Eddie Sharkey
Finishing move: Full Nelson
Biography
– Prior to becoming a wrestler, Ellering was a weightlifter. At one point, he held the deadweight world record at 745lbs
– Ellering entered the AWA training school in the mid-70s. He graduated from the same class as Steve Olsonoski
– On March 11, 1980, Ellering & Ali Hassan defeated Ken Lucas & Paul Robinson to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
– Throughout March, Ellering & Hassan would regularly defend the titles against Lucas & Jimmy Valiant
– On April 7, 1980, Ellering defeated Jimmy Valiant to win the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title
– Through April, Ellering would defend the title against Valiant, Ken Lucas and Rocky Johnson
– On May 12, 1980, Ellering defeated Sonny King to retain the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title
– In June 1980, Ellering regularly defended the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title against Jimmy Valiant and Bill Dundee
– In early 1981, Ellering suffered a severe knee injury in a match against Robert Gibson. It would keep him out of action for the remainder of the year
and would lead to his retirement from active duties
– Ellering soon began his managerial career in Ole Anderson’s Georgia promotion
– In 1982, Ellering introduced his ‘Legion of Doom’ stable, though the stable would soon shrink to the combination of Ellering, Hawk & Animal. Ellering would manage the team (in kayfabe and in real-life) through to 1997
– At THe Great American Bash ’87, Ellering, The Road Warriors, Dusty Rhodes & Nikita Koloff defeated The Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger & JJ Dillon) in the first ever WarGames Match
– At WCW Capital Combat, Ellering defeated Teddy Long in a Hair vs Hair Match
– Ellering retired from the wrestling business in 2002
– In 2011, Ellering and The Road Warriors were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Dusty Rhodes
– At NXT Takeover: The End, Ellering made a surprise return to TV, debuting his new team ‘The Authors of Pain’
– At Takeover Toronto, Ellering led The Authors of Pain to victory in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
– In January 2024, Ellering was voted into to the GERWECK.NET Hall of Fame
